Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is nowadays a leading trend in the development of gasoline internal combustion engines. The application of this novel combustion system will allow to comply with future legislations concerning the exhaust emissions including carbon dioxide. This paper presents a design and implementation of a research engine with a direct fuel injection and the capability of HCCI combustion via an internal gas recirculation and a negative valves overlap (NVO). The technical approach used in the engine allowed an autonomous HCCI operation at variable loads and engine speeds without the need of a spark discharge. Experiments were conducted at a wide range of valve timings providing data which allowed an assessment of a volumetric efficiency and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rate. Permissible range of air excess coefficient, providing stable and repeatable operation has also been identified. The use of direct gasoline injection benefited in the improvement of the start of the combustion (SOC) and heat release rate control via the injection timing.