Honda displays in the 2014 Geneva Motor Show

Honda Civic Type R Concept Model set for Worldwide Debut at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show

Honda today reveals its 2014 Geneva Motor Show line-up, including the worldwide debut of the Civic Type R Concept model, the European debut of the Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Concept, the powertrain layout of the new NSX and the 2014 Civic World Touring Car Championship race car.

Racing Car for the Road – Civic Type R Concept

Honda’s appearance at the 2014 Geneva Motorshow will lead with the worldwide reveal of the Civic Type R Concept model, providing the styling direction for the exterior design of the highly-anticipated production version that debuts in 2015. Dubbed by the design team as a ‘racing car for the road’, its bold and expressive styling reflects the strong performance characteristics for which Type R is renowned.

Advanced Technology Leadership – FCEV Concept

Further underlining Honda’s leadership in the development of advanced technology, the FCEV Concept makes its first European appearance. Sleek and aerodynamic, the Concept points to the potential styling direction of Honda’s next-generation fuel cell electric vehicle which launches in the U.S. and Japan in 2015, followed by Europe.

Further Evolution – Honda NSX

Making its Motorshow debut, Honda will highlight the powertrain layout of the new NSX supercar. The model showcases the longitudinal, V6 direct injection engine with twin turbo alongside Honda’s innovative 3 motor Sport Hybrid SH-AWD^® (Super Handling All Wheel Drive™) hybrid system.

Racing Spirit – 2014 Civic World Touring Car Championship livery

Following victory in the Manufacturers' Championship  of the 2013  World Touring Car Championship, Honda will also reveal the livery of the 2014 Civic WTCC car. Additionally it will showcase its long history in Formula One with the RA271 that competed in 1964 making its debut in the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring and the record-breaking turbo-charged RA168E engine which dominated the 1988 season.

KLIMS 2013 Short Overall Show Coverage

The KLIMS, currently running at the Putra World Trade Center (PWTC), will be finishing this weekend, with tomorrow Sunday Nov 24th being the last day. If you have not visited it, this weekend will be a good time to do so. Like any typical motor show, this year's KLIMS features a mixture of concept cars and 'real-world' road cars. Most manufacturers participating in this show are also taking the opportunity to launch new models and variants of existing models as well as pre-launch of new models (unveiling a new model which will be launched in the near future).

The exhibits in KLIMS is spread out over several halls and 4 distinct locations, like all previous shows. So there will be a certain amount of walking needed to get from hall to hall. The manufacturers exhibiting in this year's KLIMS are as follow:

Japanese marques

1. Honda

2. Toyota

3. Lexus

4. Nissan

5. Infiniti

6. Subaru

7. Daihatsu (they have a very small booth showing trucks)

8. Isuzu

Korean marques

1. Hyundai

Local marques

1. Perodua

2. Leading Edge (a Malaysian consultant firm designing and manufacturing niche market cars)

European marques

1. Peugeot

2. Citroen

3. Ford

Conspicious with their absence are KLIMS stalwarts and local manufacturers Proton and Naza. Proton is citing the lack of a suitable venue as the reason for their absence. The 'big four' European manufacturers too are again absent, for two consecutive motor shows or more now. They are of course Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi and Volvo. Also absent are the two smaller japanese car makers Mazda and Suzuki. 

For car nuts and motorsports enthusiasts, a few manufacturers are displaying their racing cars. Honda is showing off their HMRT Racing Jazz, Ford their Focus Race car and Infiniti their Red-Bull Renault F-1 car which they call the 'Infiniti Q100' in their booth. There are also a number of aftermarket displays ranging from window tints to 'toys' like air-fuel sensors. 

There are two small 'auto-salon' sections featuring modified cars on Hall 3 where the Peugeot, Citroen and Perodua booths are. These two sections are tucked into one corners each. One 'auto-salon' is focussed on supercars, heavily modified and includes a Nissan R35 GTR, an Audi TT, a Lamborghini, amongst others. The other 'auto-salon' display features modified normal road cars and are mostly Peroduas, a couple of Toyota Vios'es and a BMW. Look for a really over-the-top (yet interesting nonetheless) Perodua Kenari featuring a lavish gun-based theme.

Up in Hall 4 however is the very interesting 'American Classic Cars' display with such notable cars an an original Corvette Stingray and a Ford Model T. These cars have mostly been maintained by AutoGlym car-care. There are also four ex-F1 cars on display in the Classic Cars hall. Oh yes, speaking about Ford, do not miss the Ford booth where they have a Ford Shelby Cobra supercar. 

Time permitting, I plan to briefly cover some of the other manufacturer's booth at the KLIMS over the next couple of days.

VIDEO : Honda Malaysia's presentation at the KLIMS 2013

This is the video of Honda Malaysia's presentation at the KLIMS 2013 during their media presentation on Nov 14th 2013 which is the preview and media day of the event. The video starts a little bit after the beginning where the formalities are and covers all the displays at the Honda Malaysia booth plus the presentation for the launch of the new 5G Honda Odyssey for Malaysia.

New NSX Concept at the 2013 NAIAS

Currently, all our attention are focussed on the NAIAS, the North American International Motor Show where three significant cars are on display from Honda and Acura. These are first and foremost the much anticipated updated new NSX concept car, this time with a full concept interior as told to us by our resident insider. Honda/Acura also put up the prototype of the new Acura MDX for the show. And on the Honda side, the new Urban SUV Concept, based on the Fit/Jazz platform, makes it world debut at this show. We have multiple, in depth coverage of these vehicles on our main site the Temple of VTEC. For the convenience of readers, the articles related to the new NSX concept car are below:

Honda PR for the new NSX concept

TOV proprietry photos of the new NSX concept

TOV exclusive video - interview with John Ikeda on the new NSX concept

The photo above is from our own collection. Our complete selection can be viewed at our relevant article in the 2nd link above.

Official Honda Press Release for Paris Motor Show

Honda at the Paris Motor show

Honda reveals the new European CR-V at the Paris Motor Show 2012 with the announcement that the new CR-V will be offered with Honda’s new 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine. The new smaller diesel engine is the first in a series of engines to be introduced in Europe under the name of Earth Dreams Technology. The 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine will be available on the Civic later this year and the CR-V from September 2013 with production at Honda’s UK factory in Swindon.

The application of new high-strength material in the cylinder head has enabled Honda to deliver the world's lightest aluminium open deck 1.6-litre diesel engine. These lightweight characteristics support an agile handling of the car, along with the compact high-efficiency turbocharger, enhance responsiveness and ensure the car will offer a class-leading balance of fuel economy and performance.

The 2013 CR-Z hybrid makes its debut at Paris Motor Show. Subtle revisions to the exterior and interior enhance the styling of the car whilst the power of both the petrol engine and electric motor has been increased without comprising fuel economy or increasing exhaust emissions. The car also features a Lithium Ion battery for the first time. The revised CR-Z will go on sale in January 2013.

The production launch of the new European CR-V took place at the beginning of September and was celebrated as part of a new £267 million investment programme into new models and engines at Honda’s manufacturing plant in Swindon, UK. The new investment which will take Honda’s total spend at Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) to over £1.5 billion supports the production launch of the new Civic (December 2011), the new CR-V (September 2012) and the new 1.6-litre diesel engine (December 2012). 500 new Associates have already been recruited and trained to manufacture the new products, taking the total workforce to 3,500.

This year, Honda celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Civic which was first introduced in 1972. Since then sales have exceeded 20 million units worldwide. Popular for being affordable, comfortable and fun to drive, the Civic has always been at the forefront of engine development showcasing engineering breakthroughs such as Honda’s Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion (CVCC) engine in 1972 and the DOHC VTEC, introduced in 1987, which was the first engine in the world to electronically control both valve timing and lift. Honda is marking this anniversary by displaying an original first generation Civic at the Paris Motor Show alongside the latest generation Civic.

The Civic WTCC race car is displayed on Honda’s stand at the Paris Motor Show following the announcement that Honda will compete in the full 2013 FIA World Touring Car Championship. Driving for Honda will be Italian Gabriele Tarquini and Portuguese Tiago Monteiro.

The Civic WTCC car utilises the HR412E engine which is a completely bespoke 1.6-litre 4 cylinder direct injection turbo-charged petrol engine, fully conforming to FIA regulations for the WTCC. The engine was developed at Honda’s R&D centre in Tochigi, Japan and heralds a new generation of high performance racing engines from Honda.

More details on individual models will be published in their own separate posts,

Paris Motor Show

The Paris motor show will be held on the 27th of September (i.e., this month at the time of this post). The show promises the debut of a few cars of interest to Honda enthusiasts. Top of the list will be the CR-Z MMC, also called the '2013 CR-Z'. This MMC promises some minor, yet very important updates to the CR-Z which has been getting some very good, yet also some negative reception. The new 4Gen CR-V which has already been launched to great success in the U.S. will debut in this show as well. And finally, but not least, the new diesel Civic with a 1.6l i-DTEC engine will also debut in this show. The official press release from Honda of Europe follows.

We also have a little bit of extra details on the CR-Z MMC and the Civic which we will be publishing on different posts afterwards.

Honda CR-V and CR-Z Take Centre Stage at Honda's 2012 Paris Motor Show Display

14 September 2012

Honda has revealed its 2012 Paris Motor Show line-up consisting of the new CR-V and the all-new 1.6 diesel engine in the Civic, plus an updated CR-Z.

New CR-VThe new fourth generation British-built CR-V makes its European debut at the Paris Motor Show 2012. Building on the success of its predecessors, the new CR-V has improved quality, practicality and refinement. For the first time in Europe, the compact SUV will be offered with a choice of both two- and four-wheel drive, while improvements to both the petrol and diesel engines have resulted in a significant reduction in CO2 emissions.

Civic 1.6L i-DTECShown for the first time at Paris Motor Show, Honda has introduced a new 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel engine in the Civic hatchback. The first engine in Europe to feature Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology series, it combines strong performance (120 PS) with CO2 emissions of only 94 g/km* helping the Civic to achieve a combined consumption of 78.5mpg*.

* All figures for 16”wheel size.
2013 CR-ZThe CR-Z features revisions to the exterior and interior enhancing the styling of the car whilst the power of both the petrol engine and electric motor has been increased without comprising fuel economy or increasing exhaust emissions. Details of performance and the on the sale date will be announced at Paris.

Honda EV-STER Honda is also exhibiting the EV-STER, next-generation electric small sports concept model.

40th Anniversary of the CivicThis year, Honda celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Civic which was first introduced in 1972. Since then sales have exceeded 20 million units worldwide. Honda is marking this anniversary by displaying an original first generation Civic at the Paris Motor Show alongside the latest generation Civic.

The Honda Press Conference will take place at 16.30 on Thursday 27 September.

The NSX is Back !!! Photos from the NAIAS

The NSX makes a dramatic return to Honda's, or rather Acura's lineup in the U.S., in the form of the 2nd Gen Acura NSX. Slated to be launched in 2014 and be built in Honda's Ohio plant, this is surely THE most awaited event for all Honda enthusiasts for a long long time. 

The new NSX continues the legendary tradition of the original NSX by being an MR and featuring superb power-to-weight ratio as the means to deliver high performance befitting a Honda supercar. It features a new version of Honda's SH-AWD with electric motors powering the front wheels instead of being driven by the engine via a prop-shaft. The engine itself is a direct-injection V6, displacement unknown, and quite certainly DOHC and VTEC. During the special preview in December, Acura told TOV that it will be a higher spec version of the circa 400hp 3.5l V6 that they had been working on thus far. It is unknown if this engine will feature Honda's much awaited A-VTEC system. It is mated to a 'dual-clutch' transmission, i.e. a DSG, number of gears not specified. The engine is a new generation IMA hybrid, with an electric motor reinforcing drive when needed. The new NSX will be developed for production by an R&D team led Honda R&D Americas.

The photos below are selected from TOV's own personal collection, taken at the NAIAS 'Detroit Motor Show'. More photos and the complete press release are available at our Temple Of VTEC main site at http://www.vtec.net.

 

The NSX is Coming !!! Part Three

In this post leading up to the final exposure of the new NSX concept, I take a look at some of the renditions of this car on the internet and our subjective opinions on how accurate they are. Since the confirmation of this new '2nd Gen NSX', several renditions have since come out. Some are quite a way off the real car but some quite close. The new NSX is really a hardtop version of the 'Avengers' car that 'Tony Stark' drove to one of the Avengers movie sets for shooting. I did talk to Jeff about getting Neil to do our own rendition but now that the car is going public in virtually half a days time, it is no longer prudent to do so. So instead, I first show five renditions done by other publications and what we have to say about them.

Automotive News Website

It's a decent effort - probably better than anything I could have done but apart from some similarities in several elements, it doesn't look much at all like the real car. PLEASE Don't be disappointed by that image.

The vehicle depicted there looks much heavier and blockier than the real thing. Also, it barely looks like an MR car. Just look at the "Avengers" car and imagine it with a fixed roof and a cleaner rear deck design. 

Automobile Magazine

Better looking, yes. The front end isn't too far off in that one but the stance of the vehicle looks wrong. They missed most of it past the A-pillar. The cockpit tapers more, more tumblehome, etc 

Holiday Auto Magazine (Japan)

Nope, that's definitely not it. The rear is nothing like that at all - the tail on that Holiday auto car looks too long. The NSX concept has a shorter tail - more gallardo/r8-like. from the front 3/4 shot that Holiday auto sketch with the long tail looks more like the american-built SSC.

Best Car (Japan)

Jeff was too busy to comment on this but a later confirmation that the AutoExpress rendition looks the closest indirectly confirms that this rendition is out as well.

Thus far, the Auto Express magazine (from UK) rendition of the new NSX is the closest to the actual concept car that was shown to the media. I shall cover this in the next post.

 

Hot Import Nights (HIN) debuts in Malaysia

Hot Import Nights (HIN) is a popular car-show featuring compact and tuner import cars in the U.S.A. This show is owned and run by Hot Import Nights (the company) who are located in Orange County, California. In the U.S. HINs are mostly single-night events held in many different cities across the US, ranging from hardcore car enthusiasts cities like Los Angeles, New York (city) to exotic ones such as Honolulu in Hawaii.

HIN (the company) also runs HINs (the car-shows) across the world, in Europe, Asia, South America and even Africa, through its network of associate. In Asia for e.g. HINs have been a feature of the Indonesian enthusiasts scene for 10 years now. For 2011, HIN is making its debut in Malaysia.

HIN 2011 (Malaysia) is currently running at our Malawati Stadium at Shah Alam, the location famous for its annual GRA (a local version of Gymkhaha or Auto-X) events. HIN however is held inside the Malawati stadium itself. Word of HIN has been spread very well by its organiser and most car enthusiasts in the Klang Valley are aware of it. Having gotten media credentials with the organiser, I paid a visit to HIN early on the first day in order to check it out before the crowds arrived. It also gives better photo opportunities.

Main Venue

The main venue of HIN is inside the Malawati stadium itself. Taking centerstage is the Honda booth, with a white CR-Z together with three selected modified Hondas being displayed. These Hondas were selected from a competition where owners submitted their cars to Honda Malaysia. Two FD2 Civics and one current gen City were selected (thanks to Fish-Chan for the correction). Photos of the 3 cars and the CR-Z are below.

Surronding the center Honda display are the displays of the main participants. Tom's Stickers have a large booth there, showing off their comprehensive ranges of stickers plus a host of other similar companies. One that caught my curiosity was 'Jaz Airbrush' who put an EF CR-X on the floor with a 'live demo' of air-brushing the car. There are lots of other wonderfully motif'ed cars on display as well. Also on display are the mandatory super-cars like a 'Bumblebee' lookalike yellow Chevrolet, plus a Lamborghini, an R35, Porsches and so forth.

Dyno Challenge

Besides just static display, HIN also feature supplementary car competitions, the 'dyno challenge' being one of the more talked about one. The location of this 'dyno challenge' is via a small exit located in the corner of the main venue. Unfortunately this exit is not well signboarded and I myself almost missed it. Once pass the exit doorway, I had to make my way up a twisty flight of stairs and I get into the dyno-challenge area. HIN has brought in a 'DynoLog' dyno machine from Australia for the dyno-challenge. This dyno is a twin-roller retarder based dyno and is a 4WD unit. Unfortunately the main dyno challenge event is to start at 6:30pm so I didn't stay for it. 

Spread around the dyno are some of the cars participating in the challenge. It was gratifying to see that Hondas still features prominently in a dyno challenge, eventhough there are no more truly hardcore sports Honda model available today. Consequently, almost all the Hondas on display are older models, like the DC5 (Integra Type-R), AP1 (S2000), and even an EG6 Civic which has a K20A swapped in (very neat job I might add).

Below is a selection of my photos taken from my visit/coverage of the show, with a bias towards Honda of course.

 

New CR-V launched in the U.S.

With apologies for the delay notification, we (TOV) have complete coverage of the launch of the new 4Gen CR-V at the Auto Angeles Motor Show in the U.S. Along with this launch, we have now published 3 articles which we have been putting on hold due to the embargo imposed by Honda before the launch.

Briefly, the new 4Gen CR-V is more of an evolution of the outgoing 3Gen model. The single engine variant continues to be the 2.4l K24 DOHC i-VTEC engine now giving 185hp and 163lbft (about 22.4kgm) of torque. This is 5hp higher than the old model. The transmission continues to be a 5AT only. The model comes with either FWD or real-time 4WD (called real time ALL Wheel Drive by AHM). 

Our coverage of this FMC is spread out over 4 articles, according to the links below:

1. Honda press release of the new 4Gen CR-V 

http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1014380

Embargo'ed articles now published includes:

2. Photo gallery of the new 4Gen CR-V

http://www.vtec.net/articles/view-article?article_id=1014330

 

3. Exclusive ! TOV Video for the 'walkaround' and demonstration of new features

http://www.vtec.net/articles/view-article?article_id=1014419

4. Exclusive ! TOV Video for 'First-Drive' impressions

http://www.vtec.net/articles/view-article?article_id=1014411

 

Small Sports EV Concept car the new Honda Beat ?

Of the many concept vehicles Honda has announced will be at this year's Tokyo Motor Show, the 'Small Sports EV' concept car most caught my eye. In recent times there has been persistent rumours, especially from japanese car magazines, about Honda possibly reviving their iconic 'BEAT' convertible sporty coupe of the 90s. The Honda Beat was a small 2-seater is MR configuration and powered by a 60ps engine. The tiny 660cc engine screams to 8,500rpm ! 

The 'Small Sports EV' concept looks very much like an updated Beat. With quite a number of concept cars making its way to production in past Honda history (the S2000 and the CR-Z for e.g. both started life as a concept car), I wonder how good are the chances that this Small Sports EV concept will become a reality in the not too distant future.
 

As I won't be making my way to the Tokyo Motor Show, I hope that Jeff will be going and if so, that he might be able to dig out a little bit more info on this concept. If he do get it, I will be sure to post them here. In the meantime, Honda supplied three photos of the Small Sports EV concept in their media release for the TMS; three different angles of the car, which are below. Enjoy.