SEPTEMBER 28, 2001

Honda to have new V10 in 2002

The Honda Motor Company will have a completely new V10 engine in Formula 1 next year. The engine has already been tested on dynos in Japan and our spies say that it has some radical features but there is currently not hint as to what the vee-angle will be.

THE Honda Motor Company will have a completely new V10 engine in Formula 1 next year. The engine has already been tested on dynos in Japan and our spies say that it has some radical features but there is currently not hint as to what the vee-angle will be. The current trend in F1 is for the engine designers to try to widen the vee-angles in order to lower the center of gravity of the engine and improve the overall handling of the car. This has come about because the search for more horsepower is becoming more and more difficult (and expensive), despite the fact that BMW is believed to have found about 40 horsepower more than rival engine-makers this year. They are now trying to make up the gap and get up to around the same horsepower levels, which are now reckoned to be in the region of 840-850 horsepower.

The problem with increasing the vee-angle is that there are resonance and vibration problems but Renault has shown this year that these can be overcome and so the rival engine manufacturers are looking to go down the same route. The Renault engine is believed to be 110-degrees and it is anticipated that the new Honda will be along similar lines although security in Japan is intense.