Honda shows all-new Formula One engine

Fernando Alonso has something to look forward to next year, if he is indeed moving to McLaren-Honda.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has revealed a first look of the power unit currently in development for the 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship.

During the 2014 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, Honda offered a preview of the F1 power unit under development in the form of a film including the sound of the engine revving.

Comments by Yasuhisa Arai, Senior Managing Officer of Honda R&D Co., Ltd., who is heading the F1 Project: “Working toward Honda’s F1 participation starting in the 2015 season, development of the power unit is entering its prime phase at our R&D facility in Sakura (Tochigi, Japan), where we transferred our automobile motor sports development earlier this year. In addition to conducting simulations, we have moved onto the next stage where we conduct full-fledged bench tests of the engine while connecting the turbocharger and energy recovery systems. In the meantime, our racing operation base in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, has become fully operational.”

Honda last participated in F1 as a constructor in 2008 with limited success after a three-year run. As an engine supplier, Honda has met with more success, winning 71 Grand Prix, supplying engines to six consecutive constructor champions and five consecutive driver champions from 1986-1991. That’s the magic that McLaren is hoping to recapture next year.