4wd Crew Cab Sport New 4 Dr Truck Automatic Gasoline 3.5l V6 Sohc Vtec 24v Taffe on 2040-cars

Auto blog

This three-cylinder Honda is faster than a Bugatti Veyron

Honda's S660 roadster, a tiny Japanese sports car that makes a Mazda MX-5 Miata look large, is powered by a three-cylinder engine that puts out 63 horsepower. As you might imagine, it's not very fast. Stick that engine into a vehicle that closely resembles the HondaJet, though, and it sets a new FIA class record of 261.875 miles per hour at the Bonneville Salt Flats. While the S-Dream Streamliner's three-cylinder, 600-cc engine is similar to the one found in the S660, it has been heavily modified to produce what Honda claims is three times the original amount of power. A Veyron-beating top speed from roughly 190 hp is still plenty impressive. The record car topped out at 266 mph at one point, but it didn't match that speed on the return run. The team of 16 Japanese Honda engineers, who were chosen from a pool of 100 volunteers, set a new FIA World Record for a vehicle in the class – Category-A Group-1 Class-4 – and even bested Honda's previous land speed record at Bonneville, set by the Honda Racing F1 team in 2006. The V10-powered F1 car averaged 248.548 mph. The aerodynamic vehicle was piloted by Japanese motorcycle rider Hikaru Miyagi, who can now claim having driven the fastest Honda car ever. The company still has some way to go, though, before one of its land vehicles surpasses the HondaJet, which can travel at approximately 485 mph. Related Video: Featured Gallery Honda S-Dream Streamliner News Source: HondaImage Credit: Honda Honda Lightweight Vehicles Racing Vehicles Special and Limited Editions fia world record bonneville salt flats honda s660

Honda to spool up turbos, workforce with F1 tech

Honda has had a longer and more tumultuous relationship with Formula One than just about any other automaker. It had only been building cars for four years before it entered F1 in 1964 as the first Japanese team in the series, winning its first race the following season but shuttering the program a few years later. Honda came back to power the likes of Williams and McLaren to several World Championships in the '80s and '90s, but things took a downturn when it started a partnership and ultimately took over British American Racing. After pouring untold billions into the effort, the economy tanked, and Honda ultimately sold the team, which subsequently claimed the championship - under new ownership and Mercedes power. Now Honda is gearing up to return in 2015 with a new turbocharged V6 hybrid powertrain it's supplying initially to McLaren, which in turn is switching back to Honda from nearly two decades with Mercedes.
So why return to F1 now? That's precisely what Autoblog asked Honda's Global President and Chief Executive Takanobu Ito (pictured above with McLaren chief Martin Whitmarsh) while visiting his office in Tokyo. While he wouldn't reveal specifics (like when his company's new engine would be available to other teams, as it most certainly will in the long run), Ito-san was clearly happy to discuss the motivation behind the move and the value he feels it brings to the company and its products.
Ito pointed toward the proliferation of motors within Honda's powertrains as a development he hopes to take to road from track

Honda opening first new motherland plant in almost 50 years

Despite opening dozens of overseas plants in the past several decades in locations all over the globe, Honda Motor Co. has not expanded its car manufacturing capabilities in its home market of Japan since opening a facility in Sayama back in 1964.
But all of that is set to change this July when Honda opens the doors to a new assembly plant in Yorii, about two hours north of Tokyo. According to Bloomberg, the new facility has a projected annual capacity of 250,000 vehicles. The plant is part of the automaker's reorganization efforts, plans that include scaling back its older Sayama plant and bringing Yorii online with more efficient and innovative technology. There are additional benefits, too, as the Yorii plant is expected to create 3,800 jobs, both on-site and at its suppliers, and boost the local economy as other businesses ramp up to accommodate the influx of new workers.
While the automaker has not released specifics about which models will be produced at Yorii, Honda is expected to consolidate production of models including the Fit, a best-seller in its domestic market.