Honda Performance Development (HPD), the motorsports division of Honda’s US subsidiary American Honda, announced on August 7th that it will supply a new V6 turbo engine to the LMP1 Class team for the 2014 season. The new engine named the HR22T, is a 2.2 liter direct injected V6 gasoline turbo engine. It was developed based on the engine used by Honda in the IndyCar Series since the 2012 season.
Up until now, Honda has supplied LM naturally aspirated V8 engines for the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) teams. In response to new regulations that will be introduced in the 2014 season, Honda will switch over to the HR22T engine.
HPD Vice President and COO Steve Eriksen commented, “This is an exciting new program for HPD and our customer teams in the World Endurance Championship, as it brings manufacturer-level engine technology to privateer teams. A small-displacement, direct injected, turbocharged engine with a range of energy recovery options will be provided to private teams with the technical sophistication they need to compete under the challenging new LMP1 regulations.”
