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Mugen Power
Mugen Power
Mugen Power
Mugen Power

Mugen Motorsports (M-TEC Co. , Ltd) (無限) is a Japanese company formed in 1973 by Hirotoshi Honda, the son of Honda Motor Company founder Soichiro Honda, and Masao Kimura. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. Hirotoshi Honda (本田博俊 founder of Mugen Motorsports is the son of Soichiro Honda, the man who founded the Honda Motor Company. () is a Multinational corporation, engine Manufacturer and engineering corporation headquartered in Japan. Sōichirō Honda (本田 宗一郎 Honda Sōichirō, November 17, 1906 &ndash August 5, 1991) was a Japanese Engineer Mugen, meaning "Without Limit", or "Unlimited", (hence the commonly placed word "Power" after, denoting "Unlimited Power") is an engine tuner and parts manufacturer closely associated with the Honda Motor Company. () is a Multinational corporation, engine Manufacturer and engineering corporation headquartered in Japan. Despite the family connections, however, Mugen is not, and has never been, owned by Honda. Things were complicated for some time as Mugen was owned and run by Hirotoshi Honda, who has been the major shareholder in Honda since his father's death in 1991.

The company tunes and races Honda vehicles in the Super GT championship, and, additionally, sells aftermarket parts to amateur enthusiasts. The Super GT series formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC (全日本GT選手権 Zen Nihon GT Sensyuken) is a grand It was part of partnerships that won the Formula 3000 championship in 1990 and 1991, and that eventually led to Mugen's involvement in Formula 1, from 1992 to 1999, and up to 2005 was the exclusive supplier of Formula Nippon engines. Formula Nippon is a type of Formula racing and the top level of single-seater racing in Japan.

Contents

Corporate history

The company has a strong racing heritage as Hirotoshi Honda began building his own racing car, in a workshop at his father's house, shortly before he graduated from Nihon University in 1965. Nihon University ( 日本[[wikt 大学|大学]] Nihon Daigaku abbreviated as 日大 Nichidai is the largest University in Japan. Masao Kimura is a veteran with more than 50 race victories in Honda sports cars and single-seaters and worked for Honda R&D and then Honda Racing Service before he helped Hirotoshi Honda establish Mugen. A sports car is a term used to describe a class of Automobile.

The company specializes in tuning Honda engines, beginning with the 1200 cc Honda Civic engine, but has since developed and can now design and build both two-stroke and four-stroke engines and manufacture many of the major components. Automotive Inline 3-cylinder The Honda Insight hybrid contains a 1 The Honda Civic is a line of subcompact / Compact cars manufactured by Honda.

Mugen ultimately intends to build its own road cars and the first step towards this was the creation of bodykits for the Honda Ballade CR-X in 1984. This article is about the first and second generation CR-Xs for the third generation version see Honda Civic del Sol. Since then, the company has produced a number of body kits for Honda machinery, culminating in 1992 in the Mugen NSX prototype. Development In 1984 Honda commissioned Pininfarina to design the HP-X ( H onda P ininfarina X perimental which had a mid-mounted 2

Mugen was restructured in late 2003 following Hirotoshi Honda's tax evasion scandal, and a new company called M-TEC was established shortly in early 2004. M-TEC retained the right to use the Mugen trademark and is based in the current headquarters in Asaka, Saitama, in the northern suburbs of Tokyo and close to the Honda R&D facility at Wako, and will retain the company's existing staff but will be legally unconnected with the old firm. A trademark or trade mark, represented by the symbols ™ and ®, or mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual is a city located in Saitama, Japan. It was named (as Asaka town in 1932 after Prince Asaka who was an honorary chairman of the Tokyo Golf Club officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. is a city located in Saitama, Japan. As of 1 May 2008, the city has an estimated population of 76221 The newly restructured company is now headed by Mugen board member Shin Nagaosa. Nagaosa was the manager of the engineering division of the company and in recent years has been largely involved with running Mugen's NSX racing program.

Mugen Racing

Single-seaters

Working with Honda, Mugen has gradually expanded its sporting involvement to all levels of the sport. In 1986, Formula 3000 was introduced into Japan and Mugen joined forces with Honda to build an F3000 engine. It was introduced in the 1987 season and leased to 14 teams. The following year, Mugen won four of the top five places in the Japanese F3000 championship. In 1989, Mugen entered European F3000 with the MF308 engine and won the championship with Jean Alesi, driving an Eddie Jordan Racing Reynard. Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi June 11, 1964) is a French racing driver of Italian origins Early history Jordan's success in lower formulae inspired the creation of a Formula One programme for the 1991 season. Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer The same year the company produced its own prototype 3. 5L  V8 Formula 1 engine, codenamed MF350. A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the Crankcase in two banks of four cylinders in most cases set at a right angle to each other

In 1988, Mugen started tuning Honda engines for use in Formula 3, winning the Japanese series with Akihiko Nakaya, and in 1990 expanded their business to Europe. Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The same year, Mugen won its first Formula 3 championships in Europe, taking the French title with Eric Hélary, and the British crown with Mika Häkkinen at the wheel of a West Surrey Racing Reynard, which repeated the title in 1991 with Rubens Barrichello. Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. Eric Hélary (born 1966-08-10) is a racing driver from Paris. Mika Pauli Häkkinen ( (born September 28, 1968 in Helsingin maalaiskunta) is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula Founded in 1981 West Surrey Racing is a UK-based motorsport team run by New Zealander Dick Bennetts Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (born May 23 1972 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver currently driving for

As F3000 became a spec-series in Europe starting in 1996 with the Lola-Judd combo, the Japanese series responded by making Mugen the sole supplier to the Japanese championship, now redubbed Formula Nippon. Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a Racing car Engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon Judd is a name brand of engines produced by Engine Developments Ltd M-TEC lost the supply contract for the 2006 season, with the rules changing to allow Toyota associate TOM'S to join Mugen as engine supplier. (pronounced) is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Japan, and is currently the world's largest Automaker. is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles Mugen continues to enjoy success in the Formula 3 circuit with its tuned 2. 0 L Honda engines, having won 9 titles in Asia (8 of which in Japan) since 1988, as well as 19 titles in Europe (15 of them in Britain), and 13 in Latin America.

Formula One

In 1991 Mugen prepared Honda V10 engines for Tyrrell but the following year these engines were renamed Mugen MF351H and were transferred to the Footwork team, with drivers Aguri Suzuki and Michele Alboreto. A V10 engine is a V engine with 10 cylinders in two banks of five Lower Formulae (1958 - 1967 Tyrrell Racing first came into being in 1958 running Formula Three cars for Ken Tyrrell and local stars Arrows Grand Prix International was a Formula One team active from 1977 to 2002 is a former Racing driver from Japan. He participated in 88 Formula One Grands Prix and his most notable achievement in racing was 3rd place at the 1990 Japanese Career 1976-1981 Junior Formulae Michele Alboreto started his career in 1976 racing in Formula Monza with a car he and his friends built known as the "CMR" In 1993, Mugen remained affiliated with Footwork and created a B version of the MF351H, used by Aguri Suzuki and Derek Warwick. Derek Stanley Arthur Warwick (born August 27 1954 in Alresford, Hampshire, England) is a British former racing

At the end of the year, Mugen switched to Team Lotus with plans for a new Lotus 109. 1950s Colin Chapman established Lotus Engineering Ltd in 1952 at Hornsey, UK. The team - with drivers Johnny Herbert and Pedro Lamy (later replaced by Alessandro Zanardi) - was underfunded and the 109 chassis was late arriving. Complete Formula One results ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position Racing career Early years After graduating from karting Lamy won the Portuguese Formula Ford Championship in his debut year in 1989 at the age of 17 Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi (born October 23, 1966 in Bologna Italy) is an Italian racing driver The Mugen engine, codenamed ZA5C, was not able to show its full potential and, after Lotus closed at the end of the year, Mugen switched to the Ligier team, which was then being run for Flavio Briatore by Tom Walkinshaw, with drivers Olivier Panis, Martin Brundle and Aguri Suzuki. Ligier is a French Automobile maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier. Flavio Briatore (born April 12, 1950) is an Italian businessman Tom Walkinshaw (born November 17 1950 Mauldslie Farm near Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland) is a Scottish racing car driver Olivier Panis, born in Oullins Lyon, 2 September, 1966, is a French Racing driver. Career Early Formula One career His Formula One career began with Tyrrell in 1984 The 3. 0 L engine, conforming to the new regulations, was codenamed MF301H. The connection with Ligier resulted in Mugen's first Formula 1 victory at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix with Panis at the wheel. The Monaco Grand Prix (Grand Prix de Monaco is a Formula One race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco.

The team was taken over by Alain Prost in 1997, and the newly-named Prost Grand Prix ran MF301H-B engines with Jarno Trulli leading the Austrian Grand Prix before suffering engine failure. Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE (born 24 February 1955 is a French racing driver Prost Grand Prix was a Formula One racing team managed by former world champion Alain Prost. Jarno Trulli (born July 13[[ 974]] age) is an Italian Formula One Auto racing driver currently driving for the Toyota team The Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race The first event in 1964, was held at a Race track on the Zeltweg Airfield. With Prost establishing a relationship with Peugeot in 1998, Mugen looked for a new partner and reached a two-year agreement with Jordan Grand Prix for which Mugen produced the MF201H-C engine. For the article about the bicycle manufacturer see Cycles Peugeot. Early history Jordan's success in lower formulae inspired the creation of a Formula One programme for the 1991 season. The 1998 season was not a success until Spa-Francorchamps, when Jordan drivers Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher scored a 1-2 finish. The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix and the Spa 24 Hours endurance race Damon Graham Devereux Hill OBE (born 17 September 1960 in London) is a retired World Championship winning British racing driver from England Ralf Schumacher (born June 30, 1975 in Hürth-Hermülheim near Cologne is a German racing driver and the younger brother of seven-time

The 1999 season resulted in further success with Heinz-Harald Frentzen winning twice, but then the Honda Motor Company announced that it would be returning with its own engines in 2000 with British American Racing. Early career Frentzen was born in the West German city of Mönchengladbach ( North Rhine-Westphalia) to a German undertaker and a Spanish mother British American Racing was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005 Mugen pulled out of F1 at the end of the 2000 season leaving Honda to supply the engines to Jordan as well.

Sportscar racing

In 1998, Mugen built four NSX models, two for the Mugen/Dome partnership, one for Team Kunimitsu and one for Nakajima Racing. literally "child's dream" is a Japanese based racing car constructor involved mainly in open wheel and Sports car racing. Satoru Nakajima (Japanese name 中嶋 悟; born February 23, 1953) is a former Racing driver from Japan. The cars were fast but unreliable at first, until the Nakajima NSX scored the car's first win at the fourth round in Fuji. This was followed by three more wins (one of them by the Mugen/Dome team), which led to a second place championship finish for Tom Coronel and Kouji Yamanishi. Biography Early years Coronel was born in Naarden. He started his racing career in 1990 racing in the Dutch Citroen AX Cup after being named In 1999, the Honda took three more wins, one of those with the Mugen/Dome team of Juichi Wakisaka and Katsutomo Kaneishi scoring a victory at the opening round in Suzuka and finishing the third best team in the championship. is a Japanese racing driver who was a 2002 & 2006 champion in Japan's Super GT series in the GT500 category In 2000, the Mugen/Dome team was champion with Ryo Michigami, but the car's performance was limited by regulation changes and Michigami reached the title without a single win. Still, Honda won four races, one of them by the second Mugen/Dome car.

In 2001, Mugen concentrated once more in the JGTC, the NSX winning two races, and finishing second (Mugen/Dome) and third (ARTA) in the series. More importantly, in June, the company announced development of the a new 4. 0 L V8, dubbed MF408S, for the main prototype class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and American Le Mans Series. The 24 Hours of Le Mans ( 24 Heures du Mans) is a sports car endurance race held annually since near the town of Le Mans, Sarthe, The American Le Mans Series ( ALMS) is a Sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. At the time, Mugen acknowledged that international sportscar racing was a new category for them. The concept of the MF408S was high power, compact size, durability and reliability. Mugen chose a 4. 0 L normally aspirated engine because they felt through their experience in Formula 3 that restrictor size was key to performance. The idea was to save fuel with a smaller displacement engine, since, theoretically, restrictor size will bring power in any engine to a similar level. The main engines in use at the time were producing around 600 hp, including the turbocharged Audi and Cadillac, as well as the larger displacement BMW and the Roush-prepared Ford. AUDI AG, ( Xetra: NSU commonly known as Audi (aˈʊdi is a German Automobile manufacturer which produces Audi branded cars with headquarters Cadillac is a Brand of Luxury vehicles owned by General Motors. ( BMW) (Bavarian Motor Works is an independent German automobile manufacturer founded in 1916 Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following Mugen excluded a turbo as this necessitated use of intercoolers to extract maximum performance, which added to the weight and reduced performance.

2002 was a good year for Mugen at the track. The Mugen-prepared NSXs won five rounds, with the Mugen/Dome team winning two races outright, which gave them the Team's championship title. The debut of the MF408S was in a Panoz chassis in the 2002 Sebring 12 Hours, first round of ALMS. Panoz Auto Development is an American manufacturer of high-performance automobiles founded in 1989 by Dan Panoz, son of pharmaceutical and motorsport mogul Don Panoz

In 2004, M-TEC decided to drop down to GT300 and help train Japanese drivers for GT500 speeds. By grabbing promising drivers early in their careers, M-TEC would then be able to mold them and have definite access to future champions. M-TEC driver, Hiroyuki Yagi, was sourced from the Integra Series. The Honda Integra, a car sold as an Acura in North America and as a Honda elsewhere was a sporty Front-wheel drive vehicle sold both as a sedan and Giving the drivers experience was more important than developing the car to take the championship. To this end, M-TEC simply detuned the car for the GT300 class without optimizing it for the new power level. Winning the GT300 series by one point over the ARTA Garaiya was simply an unintended bonus for a dedicated, championship-level team.

Breaking into the United States is another goal for the M-TEC team and the Mugen name. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Currently, the authorized dealer of Mugen parts in the US is King Motorsports. Team director Junichi Kumakura thought racing the NSX in the United States was a great way to promote the company in a previously unvisited environment. When asked what else M-TEC would like to accomplish in America with the golden NSX, competing at Sebring and Daytona were marked as attractive goals.

MF408S engine technical specifications:

External links

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