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This three-cylinder Honda is faster than a Bugatti Veyron

Honda's S660 roadster, a tiny Japanese sports car that makes a Mazda MX-5 Miata look large, is powered by a three-cylinder engine that puts out 63 horsepower. As you might imagine, it's not very fast. Stick that engine into a vehicle that closely resembles the HondaJet, though, and it sets a new FIA class record of 261.875 miles per hour at the Bonneville Salt Flats. While the S-Dream Streamliner's three-cylinder, 600-cc engine is similar to the one found in the S660, it has been heavily modified to produce what Honda claims is three times the original amount of power. A Veyron-beating top speed from roughly 190 hp is still plenty impressive. The record car topped out at 266 mph at one point, but it didn't match that speed on the return run. The team of 16 Japanese Honda engineers, who were chosen from a pool of 100 volunteers, set a new FIA World Record for a vehicle in the class – Category-A Group-1 Class-4 – and even bested Honda's previous land speed record at Bonneville, set by the Honda Racing F1 team in 2006. The V10-powered F1 car averaged 248.548 mph. The aerodynamic vehicle was piloted by Japanese motorcycle rider Hikaru Miyagi, who can now claim having driven the fastest Honda car ever. The company still has some way to go, though, before one of its land vehicles surpasses the HondaJet, which can travel at approximately 485 mph. Related Video: Featured Gallery Honda S-Dream Streamliner News Source: HondaImage Credit: Honda Honda Lightweight Vehicles Racing Vehicles Special and Limited Editions fia world record bonneville salt flats honda s660

Beleaguered Takata unlikely to seek automaker assistance

Takata is continuing to deal with the massive airbag recall for millions of vehicles, but even if it doubles production, it could take years the company to build enough replacement parts to properly repair all of the affected models. If the supplier takes a hard enough financial hit whether through fines, lawsuits or just the cost of making the components, then the business might not be able to keep up production. Such a situation could put automakers in the very difficult predicament of deciding whether to provide Takata with financial assistance. Honda for one has little interest in lending further support to the beleaguered supplier, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Japanese automaker recently dropped its annual sales targets to put a larger emphasis on vehicle quality, partially in response to the inflator recall. It also struck a deal with another company for replacement parts and was rumored to abandon Takata for some future business. Honda CEO Takanobu Ito did leave the door barely cracked for possible aid. "Takata itself needs to figure out how to fulfill its duties, but if it makes any request to automakers, then we would think about that," he said, according to The Wall Street Journal. There isn't much likelihood of Takata needing a bailout, though. According to The Wall Street Journal, analysts aren't concerned about the company's short-term fortunes, and the supplier had about $728 million in cash as of last September. News Source: The Wall Street Journal - sub. req.Image Credit: Toru Yamanaka / AFP / Getty Images Earnings/Financials Recalls Honda Safety Takata airbag recall

Honda getting in on the Daytona Prototype racing action

Racing fans at Sebring are plenty used to seeing Honda powering into the winner's circle, the Japanese motor company having claimed class victories at the endurance race in Florida in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Those were all in the LMP2 category, but with the Twelve Hours of Sebring now part of the combined United SportsCar Championship, Honda is branching out into another class: Daytona Prototypes.
The purpose-built racing machinery that were once part of the Grand-Am series are now racing alongside the LMP2 prototypes from the American Le Mans Series under the united championship. So far Ford and Chevy have signed on to power the Daytona Prototypes, and now Honda's joining their ranks as the only manufacturer to field entries in both categories of the championship's Prototype class.
The competition-spec 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 revealed last month is based on the same J35 engine that powers everything from the Honda Accord to the Acura RLX and MDX. Now it will power the Riley chassis fielded by Starworks Motorsports, competing alongside the pair of Honda Performance Development (HPD) ARX-03b chassis which Extreme Speed Motorsports will campaign under LMP2 regulations, giving Honda a two-pronged, three-car assault on the top class of the new American sports car racing series.