Tokyo, September 19, 1997 - As part of its continued research into the development of a variety of engines and related production technologies, Honda has unveiled two new turbofan engines, the HFX-01 and HFX20. The HFX-01 has been designed and built in-house for research purposes and has completed all the necessary tests. The HFX20 on the other hand is a prototype engine still at the development stage.
Research and design of the HFX-01 started in 1991, with the first ground test conducted in Japan following in 1993. From 1995 to mid-1996 over 70 hours of tests at high altitude were conducted in California, USA. This simply designed engine boasts a take-off thrust of 820 kgf (1,800 lbf) while achieving a low fuel consumption of 0.45 kg/hr/kgf in the same conditions.

The HFX20 comes as the next step in the research for further reductions in fuel consumption and noise levels together with improved serviceability. Development work is progressing to achieve a take-off thrust of 1,000kgf (2,200 lbf) and a fuel consumption of 0.44 kg/hr/kgf. Plans call for building of a prototype, and ground testing before moving forward to actual test flights within the coming two to three years.

Although Honda will both remain abreast of trends in the industry and conduct marketing research, there are no plans for commercialization at this stage.

This research on turbofan engines is part of a larger research program to meet the needs for a larger variety of propulsion methods as Honda develops activities into other parts of the mobility business in the future. The types of engines developed so far are internal combustion gasoline engines, compressed natural gas engines, ethanol engines, turbocharged methanol engines (Indy CART racing), diesel engines, and electric motors for both automobiles and motorcycles.

The above two turbofan engines were first introduced earlier this year at the "Turbo EXPO '97" organized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the International Gas Turbine Institute in Orlando, Florida in June 1997.