Honda Announces All-New VTEC TURBO Engine Series

Honda has announced the introduction of three all-new VTEC TURBO engines as part of its growing Earth Dreams Technology range. These new engines come in three capacities; 1 litre, 1.5 litre and 2 litre, and will deliver a dynamic performance, as well as class-leading output and fuel economy.

All three engines will be direct-injection petrol turbos, utilising variable valve motion technology such as Honda’s refined VTEC technology. Together with Honda’s 1.6 litre diesel engine and hybrid technology, these new turbo engines will be applied on a number of future global models, depending on local market requirements and vehicle characteristics.

Based on a completely new engine structure and utilising its newly developed turbo systems, Honda has downsized its engines and produced a highly efficient 1 litre direct-injection, 3-cyclinder turbo engine as well as a 1.5 litre direct injection, 4-cyclinder turbo engine. Both engines have low friction throughout and are able to achieve class-leading output and environmental performance.

The first VTEC TURBO set to come to Europe will be the high-output 2 litre, direct injection, 4-cyclinder turbo engine, which will appear in the forthcoming Civic Type R. A highly efficient and highly responsive engine, it will have an output in excess of 280ps and will be EURO 6 compliant.

Latest Civic Type R Development Car Takes to Tochigi Test Track

Honda has showcased the latest Civic Type R development car at its in-house test track in Tochigi, Japan. The currently camouflaged car is being put through its paces as part of an extensive testing process taking place in Europe and Japan, ahead of its much anticipated launch in 2015.


The Civic Type R will be the first model in Europe to have one of Honda’s all-new VTEC TURBO engines from Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology range. This 2 litre, direct injection, 4-cylinder turbo engine is expected to have class-leading output in excess of 280PS and will be EURO 6 compliant.


Speaking during recent testing at the Nurburgring, Germany, Honda’s WTCC driver Gabriele Tarquini, gave his first driving impressions ‘The car and the characteristics of the car were fantastic. I was really impressed by the power and the torque of the engine but also by the set-up they achieved…The car is very pointed on the front and very fast to change direction’. ‘This car is very close to my racing car and you can feel very well the DNA of Type R.’

‘MPG Marathon’ underlines impressive real-world fuel efficiency of Civic 1.6 i-DTEC

A rigorous round of real-world testing dubbed the ‘MPG Marathon’ has once again underlined the impressive fuel-efficiency of the new Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC.

In the test of 23 cars driven by independent journalists and company car drivers on UK roads, the Civic took third place for overall mpg, behind the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic and Renault Clio Dynamique – both much smaller cars than the Honda.

Over a 367 mile drive the Civic recorded an excellent overall mpg of 84.87mpg, just 4mpg behind the winner. It exceeded its official combined figure by some 8.12 per cent, placing it third place overall in percentage improvement on quoted mpg figures. The Civic also recorded the third lowest CO2 emissions of the models on test, with just 94g/km.

Organised by Fleet World magazine, the ALD Automotive/Shell FuelSave MPG Marathon set out from Tankersley Manor, near Sheffield, on Wednesday 9th October. This year’s event is regarded as the toughest yet, with strong winds, long hill climbs and heavy traffic. Despite the conditions, Mark Armstrong-Read of Derbyshire NHS Trust steered the Civic to a podium place, thanks to both his own eco-driving skills and the no- compromise combination of performance and efficiency of the 1.6 diesel Civic.

Lee Wheeler, Manager-Corporate Operations at Honda (UK) comments:

"The fact that our small diesel 1.6 i-DTEC powered Civic five-door finished a very respectable third in the MPG Marathon illustrates the key benefit our new Earth Dreams Technology to fleet users - far less trips to the filling station than many similar sized competitor models. Earth Dreams Technology can now be found in the Civic five-door hatchback and CR-V, and we look forward to bringing it very soon to our all new Civic Tourer".

The MPG Marathon is designed to be a true real world test that demonstrates the benefits to both the environment and the motorist’s back pocket of employing simple, smarter driving techniques. This year’s event saw the introduction of a new ‘navigational scatter’ format with competitors required to visit a number of fixed points via the route of their choice, as opposed to the fixed route used in previous years. As a result, drivers were faced with a number of decisions to find the optimum route, without incurring time penalties. The location, speed and direction of travel of each competitor were monitored in real-time by TRACKER satellite tracking technology fitted to each vehicle.

Ross Durkin, Managing Editor of Fleet World Group and organiser of the MPG Marathon comments:

“We aim to make the MPG Marathon as representative of everyday driving as possible. Some economy driving events have got a bit of a bad name with contestants crawling along and holding up the traffic, but that’s certainly not a criticism that can be levelled at this year’s MPG Marathon. The new format meant that hardly any drivers took the same route and it was absolutely fascinating to follow their progress via the TRACKER website.”

The new Civic 1.6 i-DTEC offers a class-leading combination of fuel economy and performance – emitting only 94 g/km of CO2 with a powerful 120PS. The engine is the first to be launched in Europe under Honda’s flagship Earth Dreams Technology environmental programme; offering customers an outstanding balance of high fuel economy, low emissions and dynamic performance.

The Civic 1.6 i-DTEC is currently available from £229 per month, with 0% APR representative, and on Honda Contract Hire from £165+VAT per month. The car also benefits from zero vehicle excise duty and a combined mpg of 78.5.

Labels: Civic 1.6 i-DTEC