Kenichi Nagahiro did not want to make a diesel engine.
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After all, the top Japanese engineer worked for Honda. It did not make diesel engines.
Petrol engines, Formula One engines, mower engines, motorbike engines, even speedboat engines, yes.
Not diesels.
But to compete in Europe, where diesels now account for more than half vehicle sales, you have got to have an oil-burner in the mix.
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By GlobalData“So if I had to build a diesel, it had to be the best,” said a resigned Nagahiro.
He is also very modest. To his fellow engineers in Japan and Europe he is highly revered as the man who invented the Honda V-TEC, variable valve timing technology.
Nagahiro has now taken some pretty well tried and trusted diesel technology and honed it to what he considers near perfection. The 2.2-litre common rail direct injection engine makes its European debut in the Accord [aka the Accord Euro, Acura TSX] over the next couple of months, reaching the UK in February 2004.
Honda boasts class leading torque, low fuel consumption and Euro IV-compliant emissions which escape the UK’s 3% benefit in kind tax penalty for company car drivers.
The new 2.2 i-CTDi engine is the first diesel engine to be fully designed and developed in-house by Honda – it has previously used Rover and Isuzu units. A European official combined fuel consumption of 52.3mpg and peak torque of 340 Nm at just 2,000 rpm, are both improvements on the benchmark Audi A4 TDi 130 and BMW 320d.
The engine specification includes second generation common rail direct injection, four valves per cylinder, DOHC, variable nozzle turbocharger and intercooler. Particularly significant is the light weight of the engine, made possible by an original, Honda-developed production technique – the company’s mastery with metal is legendary.
This will be the first in a family of diesel engines from Honda and this particular engine will next be seen in the Swindon-built CRV SUV.
