You May Not Know — This Is the Lifelong Work of Mugen’s Founder 🚗🔥

Original | Honda Magazine | Japanese Car Enthusiast Journal | 2025-04-29 14:44:35
Filed under topic: #About Those High-Performance Credentials You Admire 🏁

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Hirotoshi Honda — many people know he is the eldest son of Soichiro Honda. He did not take over the Honda Motor Company founded by his father, but instead created "Mugen," a company dedicated to modifying Honda vehicles. After founding Mugen, he and the founding team worked diligently, and even though many later Honda presidents and regional branch managers once trained at Mugen, Hirotoshi continued to position himself as an outsider to Honda.

Although Mugen's modified and racing vehicles were all Honda-based, most were sold as "Mugen modification kits."Even heavily tuned models like the Mugen RR and RA only carried the Mugen badge.
But was there ever a vehicle made by Hirotoshi Honda or Mugen that only carried the Honda "H" emblem?

Of course — the answer is the 1982 Honda City Turbo, the first street-legal production car created by Hirotoshi and Mugen.

🚗 The Birth of the City Turbo

The City Turbo was born in 1982, developed by Hirotoshi Honda himself.
The first-generation City launched in 1981 with chassis code AA. As the name implies, the car was designed for urban commuting in Japan’s tight roads. It wasn't a Kei car, but it was compact. Its dimensions and engine displacement exceeded Kei-class limits.

The standard City had a 1.2L inline-4 “ER” engine using Honda's CVCC-II tech, producing just 63 hp. But weighing only 655 kg (and never exceeding 1,000 kg), the car had an excellent power-to-weight ratio.

💡 Engineering a “Land Rocket”

Hirotoshi added a turbo system and multiple performance upgrades, transforming the City into a land rocket.
The suspension was also reworked — stronger than the standard version — and impressively, the City had independent suspension on all four wheels.

Founded in 1973, Mugen first gained success in motorcycles and Formula racing, but lacked credibility in road car tuning. Hirotoshi aimed to change that with the City.
Though the car was ordinary, his modifications made it extraordinary. Even Soichiro Honda was impressed — approving it for mass production as the City Turbo.

🌀 The Turbo System & ECU

Turbocharging was the easiest way to boost performance at the time.
Mugen already had a bolt-on turbo kit under development, similar to the one later released for the CR-X Pro.
City Turbo used the IHI RHB51 turbo — compact, light, high-RPM — co-developed by IHI and Honda.

To reduce engine weight, the cylinder head was made of aluminum-titanium alloy, and the valve cover was magnesium.
The ER engine featured PGM-Fi fuel injection with an 8-bit ECU, later reprogrammed for turbo use — giving the engine snappy response with minimal lag.

At 0.82 bar boost, output reached 100 hp @ 5500 rpm, 15 kg·m @ 3000 rpm.
Considering the 700 kg curb weight, performance was brisk.

🧭 Interior Features & City Turbo II

The City Turbo had a unique three-spoke steering wheel, central tachometer, digital speed readout, and a boost gauge.
City Turbo II later added a more aggressive wheel and red-black interior trim for extra sportiness.

Released in November 1983, the Turbo II introduced a factory wide-body kit, increasing front/rear track widths (to 1400mm/1390mm).
Its bulging hood housed a top-mounted intercooler, which slightly reduced top speed but improved thermal stability.
The engine got a larger throttle body, improved intake manifold, and increased compression ratio (7.6:1).

Result:
110 hp, 16.3 kg·m torque, 745 kg weight — fast, though not as shocking as the original Turbo.

🏁 One-Make Race Versions

A one-make racing version pushed boost to 1.5 bar, with 135 hp @ 5500 rpm, 22 kg·m @ 3500 rpm.
That’s more torque than a B16A!

Visual differences between early and late City Turbos were easy to spot in these racing versions.

🛑 Legacy

City Turbo & Turbo II production ended in 1986.
This spectacular little car was never properly succeeded — even though many hoped future Fits might carry its DNA.

Imagine if today's Hondas still had that wild, innovative edge.
The City Turbo was small in size — but huge in spirit. ❤️