Honda Type R to go on Sale
Honda Australia has announced that the Integra Type R will go on sale in Australia in October. Honda will showcase the Integra Type R at the Sydney Motor Show from October 14 before nationally launching the car at the Honda Indy 300 on the Gold Coast. The Integra Type R will be launched before an expected race festival crowd of 250,000 and a TV audience of 100s of thousands when it features as part of the Honda Indy 300 on-track action from October 14-17.
The highly anticipated Integra Type R has been dubbed the best handling front-wheel-drive car in the world. Honda says that its engineers created the sports coupe for pure, uncompromised driving pleasure, with particular attention to engine response, handling characteristics and braking. The Integra Type R joins the recently released S2000 roadster, giving major strength to Honda Australia's sports car line-up.
Honda's New Engines
The Honda Motor Co has announced a new 2.0-litre, in-line 4-cylinder VTEC engine that is 50 per cent cleaner than required under next-generation emissions regulations in Japan.
Honda also has designed the VTEC engine with a 20 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency compared to a conventional 2.0-litre lean-burn petrol engine, while still achieving world-class low-to-mid range torque and maximum power output. The high-performance engine is 10 per cent lighter and more compact than current 2.0-litre engines thanks to a streamlined design employing modularisation.
New technologies include a more advanced VTEC system, a new "clean-burn" combustion system for reduced emissions and improved fuel efficiency and a high-efficiency NOx-absorbing catalytic converter for cleaner exhaust gas and extended lean-burn operating range. The rear exhaust system and a low heat mass e-type dual exhaust manifold system have been developed for faster reaction of the catalytic converter.
The 2.0-litre engine is the first of the next-generation power plants Honda plans to develop. The company also has engines of varying displacement capacities in the pipeline with the aim of renewing its entire engine line-up by the year 2005. At the same time, the company is promoting further research into direct injection and diesel engine technologies. By the year 2002, Honda aims to achieve exhaust gas emission levels at least 50 per cent less than those set by the Japanese government for October, 2000. Also targeted are the government's 2010 fuel-consumption levels in all vehicle weight categories, which Honda plans to surpass by the year 2005.
And Yet More Brilliant Honda Stuff!
The Honda Motor Co today has announced that its super-efficient hybrid car, the Insight, will go on sale in Japan in November. Honda has combined ultra-efficient engine technology, super aerodynamics and a super-light body to create the world's most frugal petrol-powered vehicle. The Insight achieves 3.4 litres per 100 km in regulation tests - the lowest figure for any mass-produced engine in the world, including diesel.
The aluminium-bodied Insight is powered by the world's lightest 1.0-litre lean-burn VTEC engine that works in tandem with Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA), a system that boosts acceleration using an ultra-thin brushless DC electric motor, thereby reducing demand on the petrol engine to save fuel and improve performance. During deceleration, the electric motor becomes a generator to transform kinetic energy into electricity and store it in a nickel metal hydride battery. This braking energy was previously wasted in the form of heat.
Two transmissions are offered - Honda's Multimatic CVT transmission that maintains the petrol engine and IMA motor within their most efficient rotational speed ranges - or a lightweight 5-speed manual transmission. The Insight conserves fuel with an "automatic idle stop" system that stops the engine automatically when the vehicle is stationary. Special tyres have been developed with a 40 per cent reduction in rolling resistance to also significantly reduce fuel consumption. The adoption of a lean-burn-compatible adsorbtion-type NOx catalytic converter helps achieve a dramatic reduction in harmful exhaust emissions - Insight emissions are some 50 per cent cleaner than required by the new standards slated for introduction in Japan in October, 2000.
From its extensive research into aluminium body structures, Honda has produced a highly rigid body with advanced safety performance in a package that is around 40 per cent lighter than an equivalent steel body - the Insight weighs just 820kg in manual transmission form.
The part-aluminium front suspension features a high-mount steering box to suit the compact engine bay design. The rear suspension has an H-shaped torsion beam layout to provide superior driving stability while allowing for a low floor design. Honda engineers have incorporated a number of safety features including impact-absorbing collapsible bonnet hinges and wiper pivots designed to reduce pedestrian head injuries in the event of an accident. The Insight is also equipped with dual SRS airbags and anti-lock brakes.
The Insight has a world-leading drag coefficient of Cd = 0.25 that was accomplished after thorough wind tunnel testing. A combination of aluminium and plastic panels has improved overall aerodynamic efficiency and reduced weight.
Palm Top Citroën
The Citroën Xsara has joined a host of palm top computers in using the Windows CE operating system. The French car maker has launched a special edition of its five door hatch using the palm top version of the Windows operating system to run the Xsara's multimedia information system. The Citroën Xsara Windows CE, as the car will be know following its November European launch, is a joint venture between Citroën, Mircosoft and Clarion. Using the latest information technology systems the new Xsara offers an exceptionally wide range of functions. The system, which has a Clarion multimedia system at its heart, uses voice recognition and voice synthesis technology to respond and reply to commands.
Using a new service called Citroën on Line, the system combines a CD player, Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) Navigation Systems and a GSM Mobile phone to provide access to the Internet to collect and send E-mail,
navigation with automatic traffic updates and computer communication on the move. With this system, the Citroën Xsara offers fully active navigation so that it can provide routes that avoid traffic jams and even guide its driver to car parks with spaces. Xsara Windows CE owners may also use the Citroën on Line service from any Internet connected computer.
The Windows CE operating system also enables Citroën Xsara Windows CE owners to use all the same palm top versions of some of the most popular software programs in the world, such as Word and Excel, and store names, addresses, and other data in its system. It has also been designed so that it can be progressively updated with new software and hardware as new services become available from Citroën on Line.
Citroën in Australia are actively investigating the possibility of the Citroën Xsara Windows CE joining our Australian range.
Quickies
- Adelaide Japanese Imports keeps bringing in heaps of stuff - 16 performance front cuts have arrived and complete cars include an R32 GTR Skyline (A$35,000 landed) and GTiR Pulsar (A$13,500 landed). Included in the front cuts is an ultra-rare FWD Nissan SR20DE NEO VVL (Variable Valve Lift and Timing) motor and box. These units are non turbo and put out 190hp. The unit is coupled to a 6 speed auto trans that can be used as sequential type shift. Go to www.adelaidejap.com.au or contact adeljap@cobweb.com.au
- Bookseller Beven D Young has released a new version of his catalog on disk, It can be downloaded (5MEG)) from his web site http://byoung.mtx.net/ or can be posted out on request.
And while on books, the following titles will be available from
http://themotorweb.com.au/cgi-bin/web_store.cgi Oct/Nov this year:
- Ford and MCrae: Focus on the World Rally Championship by Derick Alsop
- Twice Lucky: Autobiography of Stuart Turner
- Carl Fogarty: The Complete Racer by Julian Ryder
- Volkswagen: Model History by Joachim Kuch
- Chasing The Title: Memorable moments from fifty years of F1 by Nigel Roebuck
- McLaren: Formula 1 Racing Team by Alan Henry
- Stewart: Formula 1 Racing Team by David Tremayne
- Michael Schumacher: The Ferrari Years by Christopher Hilton
- Drawing and Painting Racing Cars by Michael Turner
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