Honda has revealed the first picture of the engine it will use when it returns to Formula 1 racing in the 2015 season.

The Japanese manufacturer left the sport after shutting down its team after the 2008 season, but will return as McLaren’s power unit supplier next year.

On Wednesday, Honda unveiled the first preview of what its powerplant will look like and said it will offer a sneak preview video of it during the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.

“Working toward Honda’s F1 participation starting in the 2015 season, development of the power unit is entering its prime phase at our R&D facility in Sakura (Tochigi, Japan), where we transferred our automobile motor sports development earlier this year,” said Yasuhisa Arai, the man in charge of Honda’s Formula 1 project.

“In addition to conducting simulations, we have moved onto the next stage where we conduct full-fledged bench tests of the engine while connecting the turbocharger and energy recovery systems.

“In the meantime, our racing operation base in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, has become fully operational.

“At this time, we are unveiling an image of our power unit that is under development.

“The whole team is concentrating on this development, getting ready for the forthcoming start of F1 participation in six months.”

McLaren said last month it has not yet ruled out having its first test with the Honda engine in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi next month.