HONDA The Power of Dreams

1992 was Honda’s last year of its second era of F1 participation. This year, the improved V12 engine Honda supplied to McLaren was the RA122E/B.

Honda decided to withdraw from F1 activities at the end of the 1991 season, and conducted research and development on the RA121E/B with the aim of creating a V12 engine with overwhelming performance, predicting strong competition ahead. The engine’s V-bank angle was changed to 75 degrees to lower the overall height by 20 mm, and the bore x stroke was also changed to 88.0mm x 47.9mm for a total of 3496 cc. The engine design was characterized by a compact intake and exhaust system and careful consideration of the location of auxiliary equipment to match the aerodynamic design of the chassis. In addition to the variable intake pipe length system adopted from the previous year’s RA121E, the update introduced air-pressure (pneumatic) valve springs, a five-part scavenging system, a lightweight cast magnesium alloy lower case, and a drive-by-wire, motor-driven throttle system unprecedented for an F1 engine. A 66-degree V12 engine had also been developed prior to finalizing the 75-degree design.

With these changes and new mechanisms, as well as optimization of every detail and material changes, the RA122E/B produced 774 hp at 14,400 rpm.

In the 1992 season, victories were largely determined by electronic control and simulation technologies for various components. Honda and McLaren decided to jointly develop a unique active suspension system, which Honda had spent five years of research and development on; a semi-automatic transmission, which Honda also spent two years on; and a circuit simulation system, for which research had began three years ago. The reason behind the flurry of R&D activity was that the team had noticeably lagged behind its rivals in introducing electronic controls and simulation technologies.

From this joint development, the semi-automatic transmission in particular, combined with the motor-driven throttle system, was outstanding, enabling optimal engine control and smooth gear shifting. However, co-development of the active suspension could not be completed, and Honda withdrew from F1 activities without racing with the technology.

Due to the time required to fully develop the pneumatic valves early in the season, the Honda RA122E/B won only five of the 16 races, and failed to give Honda the drivers’ or constructors’ titles. However, the RA122E/B, which had undergone continued development, improved its performance with each grand prix, and in the season-finale in Australia, helped Gerhard Berger win. This was the Honda’s final victory in its second F1 era.

In its second era of F1 activities, Honda had raced in 150 grands prix over 10 years, winning 69 races (or a 46-percent win rate). In its withdrawal from F1, Honda handed most of its F1 activities to MUGEN, but development of the RA122E/B could not transferred due to the complexity of the system and high cost of operation, and the disappeared at the end of 1992.