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NEWS
Honda Le Mans hybrid hints
Does bespoke race engine point to more higher-performance Honda hybrids?The appearance of Honda’s all-new NSX and announcements by the company’s US-based race engine division have tongues wagging regarding a proliferation of high-performance Honda hybrids.
Honda’s new American-built sports car will feature a new high-performance V6 engine with hybrid accoutrements. Overnight, Honda Performance Development, the racing arm of American Honda Motor Co, announced its plans to introduce an all-new turbocharged V6 engine with hybrid add-ons for FIA World Endurance Championship competition. A coincidence? Hardly...
The new LeMans engine is aimed to be eligible for both LMP1 and LMP2 categories. To be designated the Honda HR22T, says HPD: “the engine is based on the same architecture used in the Indianapolis 500-winning, 2.2-liter direct-injection turbocharged V6 engine used in IZOD IndyCar Series competition since 2012, designed to be coupled with a new energy recovery system developed in concert with HPD technical partner Magneti Marelli”.
The “range of bespoke energy recovery options” will be made available by HPD and Magneti Marelli in time for the 2015 FIA endurance season.
"This is an exciting new program for HPD and our customer teams in the World Endurance Championship, as it brings manufacturer-level engine technology to privateer teams," said Steve Eriksen, HPD Vice President and COO.
"A small-displacement, direct injection, turbocharged engine with a range of energy recovery options will provide private teams with the technical sophistication they need to compete under the challenging new LMP1 regulations."
The new Le Mans regulations commence in 2014 – a change that has seen both Porsche and Nissan rekindle their relationships with the event and FIA championship. Instead of engine displacement or other restrictions, the new regs instead specify a maximum fuel-flow rate into the engine, with or without energy recovery systems.
"The new rules say that if you are a private team, you can either run without energy recovery systems or choose to add the level of energy recovery that best suits your needs. This will allow our customers to choose the ERS solution that meets their needs – everything from no energy recovery up to the full eight Megajoule maximum," Eriksen said.
HPD says its two-times Le Mans 24 winning LMP2 program will continue.
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