Honda CEO: Acura Will Get V8 Engine

Andrew Stoy — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:40:00 EDT

Speaking to Automotive News, Honda Motor Co. CEO Takeo Fukui confirmed the company is planning to add a V8 engine to the Acura line, presumably to bolster its flagship Acura RL. Fukui confirmed concerns expressed by enthusiasts and the motoring press, stating "I don't think that the Acura RL 3.7-liter is sufficient. We can't compete with other premium brands." In Honda's best engineering tradition, Fukui says the new V8 will be completely different from current conventional offerings and provide excellent fuel efficiency, though he declined to elaborate. With the 2010 NSX sporting a new V10 and this news of a V8 coming for the RL (and possibly being offered in the NSX as well), Acura should finally have an engine lineup allowing it to compete with other luxury brands — now about that styling...

[Automotive News (sub. req.)]

IndyCar Series To Drop Cylinders, Add Turbos For 2011

Mark Arnold — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:00:00 EDT

The current naturally-aspirated 3.5-liter V8 Honda engines used in Indy cars will be long gone come 2011. In their place will be either six- or four-cylinder mills boosted by one or two turbochargers. The changes will be discussed in a meeting next month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but for now there's some debate as to which type of engine should be used.

Erik Berkman, president of Honda Performance Development, said:

"(the debate) is over four (cylinders) or six... But both of them include turbos,” Barnhart said... One of them includes twin turbos."

We're assuming that means the decision is between either a twin-turbo four-banger or a single-turbo V6. But who knows? Maybe they're considering a twin-turbo V6. Allegedly, the reason for all the change is to stay relevant with fans and to increase fuel economy. We think Honda is just fishing for some competition. [GreenCarCongress]

Jalopnik: honda v8

Honda CEO: Acura Will Get V8 Engine

IndyCar Series To Drop Cylinders, Add Turbos For 2011