Honda reveals downsized turbocharged VTEC engines

Honda has announced that two new downsized turbocharged petrol engines will be coming to European markets. A 1-litre and a bigger 1.5-litre turbocharged VTEC engines will be part of the powertrain line-up for the 10th generation model of the Civic. The latter is set for launch in Europe from early 2017.

The downsized engines will be part of Honda’s growing Earth Dreams Technology range and are expected to deliver class-leading power output and good fuel economy. The brand’s first new turbocharged VTEC engine, as we know, is a 2-litre unit that powers the existing Civic Type R. Developing 310bhp of power, this new engine allows the Civic Type R to accelerate from 0-100kmph in just 5.7 seconds.

Combing back to the downsized motors, Honda says these two units have been designed to utilise the brand’s newly developed turbo systems. The new engines use a turbocharger with a low moment of inertia and high responsiveness, and direct injection technology to achieve good balance between high output and torque, compared to those of naturally-aspirated engines.

The all new generation of the Civic with the new downsized turbo engines is scheduled to arrive in Europe in early 2017. With the arrival of turbocharging in smaller engines, it becomes easier for manufacturers to respond to the rising trend for improved fuel efficiency without compromising too much on power. The Indian market, too, has come to terms with downsized turbocharged motors, thanks to new technologies (Read: TSI, Revotron and EcoBoost) from Volkswagen, Tata Motors and Ford respectively.