VTEC®
The Dream: Find a New Technology to Lead the Next Generation of Honda Engines
Yes, that was our dream. But in 1984, it was also a mission our executives gave our engineers-a mission that led to the birth of Honda's revolutionary VTEC™ engine technology - an innovate technology that surprised the world with a new level of performance from a compact, fuel efficient engine.
A man by the name of Ikuo Kajitani was the engineer who helped make this happen.
Kajitani knew that an engine breathes like a pair of lungs, needing more air during heavy physical activity. But back then, the engine valves that controlled the volume of air were fixed.
Kajitani explored new ways that valves could function, and he altered valve operation at varying engine speeds.
It was at this point that the president of Honda Research and Development shared a second dream with Kajitani: "Why don't you raise your target to 100 horsepower per liter?"
Although 100 horsepower per liter might not sound like a revolutionary idea today, engineers at the time did not think that a normally aspirated engine was capable of such performance. But Kajitani embraced the challenge.
And he worked with his team to expand the variable valve-timing approach. Though it had originally been created to improve fuel economy, the engineers challenged to combine outstanding mileage with impressive power output across the entire power band.
In 1989, after four years of trial and error, incremental changes and countless new technologies and mechanisms, Kajitani and his team introduced the first high- performance VTEC engine. In addition to its impressive output and high-revving energy, the VTEC powerplant boasted superior performance at the low end - including Honda's legendary easy starting - and actually improved fuel economy as well. It was truly a "dream engine" - a completely new experience for driving enthusiasts around the world that drew considerable praise as the world's first valve mechanism that simultaneously changed valve timing and lift in both the intake and exhaust stages of combustion.
But Kajitani and his team weren't finished. They had greater expectations. "We all shared the determination to apply these technologies to every Honda model."
Indeed, VTEC today serves as the foundation of every Honda 4-cylinder engine in the world. And further advances through the years led to the i-VTEC engine series - with continued innovations coming in the future. Drivers around the world might not know Ikuo Kajitani. But they drive his dream. And they love his VTEC engine.