Racing to green moblity

The President of Honda R&D, Masaaki Kato, hopes to harness the company's “racing spirit” to research and develop innovative methods to reduce the CO₂ emissions of its products.

Masaaki Kato, President of Honda R&D and Senior Managing Director of parent Honda Motor Co., told the audience at the SAE 2008 World Congress, “Honda has a long history of racing, not only in the world of motorsports. We have found that taking on major business challenges with a ‘racing spirit’ helps lead to innovation and is a great catalyst for quick change.”

Kato has had his share of motorsports, indeed in the pinnacle of Formula One racing. He was a senior designer and later manager of Honda's F1 engine design group from 1986 through 1989, perfecting and creating two engines: the RA166E turbocharged 1.5-L V6 that dominated the 1.5-L turbo formula, and the RA109E 3.5-L V10 for the following 3.5-L natural-aspiration era.