HONDA The Power of Dreams

Honda, which had been developing a 1.5 liter V6 twin-turbo engine for F1 since the start of its second F1 era in 1983, was aiming for total domination in 1987 by claiming both drivers’ and constructors’ titles, after winning its first constructors’ championship with Williams the previous year. The engine Honda developed for this challenge was the RA167E. In the 1987 season, in addition to Williams, Honda also began supplying the engines to the Lotus team, who had Ayrton Senna as one of their drivers.

In an effort to put a stop to the endlessly escalating race to increase F1 engine output, Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile Sport (FISA) gradually tightened regulations to ban turbocharged engines. Following the previous year’s fuel tank capacity regulations (from 220L to 195L), turbocharger boost pressure, which had previously been unlimited, was restricted to a maximum of 4.0 bar. On the other hand, 3.5-liter naturally-aspirated (NA) engine cars were permitted to participate in grand prix racing. The minimum weight requirement for turbocharged cars was set at 540 kg, while NA cars were set to 500 kg. In order to adjust for the power disparity, the goal was to effectively reduce the performance of the turbocharged cars.

For Honda, aiming to win both constructors’ and drivers’ titles, could not sit idly by and let this regulation stand in its way. Rather than trying to prevent the reduction of power, Honda decided on a technological strategy that aimed to increase the output. The specific technical tactic was to promote research and development to improve volumetric efficiency, or the efficiency of the engine to fill its cylinders with air-fuel.

The fuel used that year was a blend of commercial-grade high-octane gasoline with toluene and n-heptane, and a newly developed intake air temperature control system was introduced to improve volumetric efficiency by controlling the temperature of the fuel to account for its vaporizability. This system showed the expected results and became one of the weapons in Honda’s engine arsenal.

Along with the introduction of these new technologies, Honda further refined its tradition of high-revving and high-compression technologies, and the RA167E’s performance was on par with the previous year’s RA166E, squeezing out more than 1,000 horsepower during qualifying.

The high-output RA167E was able to demonstrate its performance to win power-dependent grands prix. On the other hand, in races where fuel efficiency was the key to victory, the RA167E de-prioritized power by narrowing the port diameter and valve opening angle to improve fuel efficiency. In other words, the RA167E was able to convert its abundant performance into fuel efficiency.

A problem that plagued the team during the season was the inconsistent performance of the FISA-supplied pop-off valves, which mechanically limited turbocharger pressure. Honda proposed to FISA that they work together to improve the valves and provided the technology to stabilize performance, solving a problem that had been troublesome to the turbo engine constructors.

In addition, Honda had concerns about manufacturing and supplying more than twice the number of F1 engines than before, as it was catering to two teams for the first time, but was able to establish a stable production system by utilizing its know-how as a mass-production car manufacturer.

The RA167E helped Honda win 11 out of 16 races in the 1987 season, sending its winning average to 69 percent. In Round 7, the British GP, Honda-powered cars dominated the top four spots, demonstrating the engine’s performance.

Williams won the constructors’ title, Nelson Piquet won the drivers’ title, and Honda’s RA167E won both for the first time. This accomplishment demonstrated that Honda power was back in business.