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The Honda RA168E engine is a legendary powerplant that played a crucial role in Honda's domination of Grand Prix racing during the turbocharged era. While Honda's success in Formula 1 has become almost expected, it was their crushing superiority in the final year of the turbocharged era that truly made a lasting impact.
Honda's journey in Grand Prix racing started in 1964 with the R270/1, their first Formula 1 car. However, the early years were marked by limited success, as the RA272 engine in the R270/1 won only one race in two seasons. The engine had adequate power but suffered from excess weight compared to its competitors, offsetting any horsepower advantage. Honda's subsequent efforts, such as the 3.0 R273V-12 and the air-cooled V8 RA302, faced similar challenges and yielded little success.
After a gap of over fifteen years focusing on road cars, Honda returned to Grand Prix racing in 1985 with a 1.5-litre supercharged V6 engine. Although their return had a slow start, Honda quickly made progress and achieved remarkable success. By 1988, the Honda engine had established itself as the best in the field, leading Honda-powered cars to win every race that season except for one.
The RA168E engine, which powered the winning Honda cars, had a design that traced its roots back to the RA263, a naturally aspirated 2-litre V6 used in Formula 2 cars in the early 1980s. One of its notable features was the wide bore and short stroke, inspired by the four-cylinder BMW engine. By applying the same principles to a six-cylinder configuration, Honda aimed to achieve one and a half times the power.
#F1 #turbo #Senna