Many were disappointed when the numbers were revealed for the 2017 Honda Civic Si, which makes the same 205 hp as its predecessor but more torque. Now, Honda’s engineers give their reasons for the Si’s modest output figures.
Speaking to Automotive News, senior product planner for the Honda Civic Rob Keough said the engineering team chose longevity over high output. “You can tune more power into it, but all of that takes away from the durability of the engine,” he said. Honda also didn’t want to go with a detuned turbocharged 2.0-liter out of the Type R because that would have changed the Si’s character and hike the price closer to $30,000. The Civic Si starts at $24,775 including destination, which is exactly what Honda was gunning for.
“The Si has always been in the [price] range that it’s in,” Keough said. “We wanted it to be attainable and more affordable, so our target for Si was really to come in at this price point with this performance level.”
With that said, Keough wouldn’t rule out a model to slot in between the Si and the Type R, which could start at $34,775 or $10,000 more than the Si. Such a car could use an uncorked turbocharged 1.5-liter or a detuned turbo 2.0-liter.
“There’s maybe other configurations and things that they can do with this motor,” Keough said of the Si’s turbo 1.5. “The market will tell us and then we’ll see what we can do about it.”
Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)
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