Nissan announced earlier this year that it has stopped spending money on combustion engines. However, other major Japanese automakers see things differently. In a joint press conference and at subsequent separate events, Toyota, Subaru, and Mazda pledged their long-term commitment to ICE by investing in new developments. Now, it's Honda's turn to do the same. Like its rivals, the engineers are focusing on hybrid applications.
Honda, which is reportedly discussing a potential merger with Nissan, is working on four-cylinder engines running on the Atkinson cycle. Featuring 1.5 and 2.0 displacements, both direct-injected units are touted as being "all-new." However, we'll take the "all" part with a grain of salt since Honda says the same about the Prelude. We're learning that improvements made over the current hybrid powertrains will help the ICEs deliver the "highest combustion efficiency."
In the case of the smaller four-pot, Honda claims it can extend the RPM range at which the engine is highly efficient by over 40% compared to the hybrid 1.5-liter setup found in current cars. An unspecified weight loss is also planned by making the front drive unit smaller. The new hybrid component will be shared between the "small-size" and "mid-size" systems, which will use the 1.5 and 2.0 engines, respectively. It's unclear which of the two setups is bound for the Prelude, although we suspect it's the latter.
One part of the press release caught our attention: "The new engines are designed to realize a theoretical air-fuel ratio." Honda is likely referring to what Mazda has said about its new Skyactiv-Z engine. We're talking about the Lambda One combustion method. Lambda (λ) is the air-fuel equivalence ratio, so the ratio of actual air-to-fuel compared to the stoichiometric air-to-fuel ratio. The latter represents the ideal ratio for complete combustion.
When λ = 1, the air and fuel are perfectly balanced, meaning there is just enough air to burn all the fuel completely. This results in efficient combustion, maximizing energy output, and minimizing harmful pollutants. Honda says it's taking this approach to comply with emissions regulations, which are getting stricter in many parts of the world.
Coinciding with the announcement of a fresh batch of hybrid-focused engines is news about a next-generation midsize platform. Future electrified cars are projected to slash fuel consumption by more than 10% over the current crop of hybrids in the segment. This will be partially possible thanks to a weight reduction of 90 kilograms, or nearly 200 pounds. A simplified body structure will cut 10% of fat over existing hybrids.
Honda next-gen hybrid
By sharing more hardware between models, Honda aims to halve production costs for a hybrid coming in 2027 compared to the equivalent car launched in 2018. Some of these partially electrified vehicles will have an electric all-wheel-drive setup. To maximize commonality, the goal is to have more than 60% of parts shared between the vehicles underpinned by the mid-size platform. Whether these cost-cutting measures will be passed down to customers remains to be seen.
Honda aims to sell 1.3 million hybrids annually by the decade's end. The next target will be to offer only battery and fuel cell EVs by 2040, ideally reaching carbon neutrality across its entire operations in 2050.
