Control-oriented modeling and control problem for gasoline engines are studied in this paper. First, a mean-value model-based control scheme is proposed that consists of dual control loops, the fuel injection mass decision and the receding horizon optimization regarding the speed tracking performance with the throttle opening. Then, as Part I of this research, the paper focuses on the modeling problem, where the static function fitting technique and the parameter identification algorithm are made full use and the proposed approach is demonstrated with experimental data conducted on a gasoline engine with six cylinders.