Did you know that Honda made an F1 car... in 1963!?

  • Thread starter Wardez
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Wardez

Wardez

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Wardez
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It was a prototype F1 proof-of-concept car that they engineered to see if they had the right stuff to get into F1. They had to be super ambitious and passionate to even think about going ahead with this plan, coming straight into F1 as a full fledged factory team. Only BRM and Ferrari made their own chassis and engine. Honda didn't care, they got real with a V12, the most powerful engine at the time, with 12 exhaust pipes.
You've gotta see this :

Honda_RA270_2.jpg


http://www.automotto.com/entry/honda-ra270-f1-prototype-digitized/

honda-ra270-f1-protype-img3_g6zgJ_5965.jpg


Shots of the real car:
http://www.leblogauto.com/2009/01/tiroirs-de-l’insolite-honda-ra270.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_RA270

Can't believe I never knew this, but Honda's been in F1 as a constructor (not just an engine supplier) since way back then. Japan's first ever F1 team. And they stayed as fairly successful constructors winning two times over a few years all the way up to the RA302 in 1968 which was a bit of a disaster.

John Surtees was a driver for Honda in the 1968 season and, after testing the car, refused to run it in a race against his contract simply because he felt it was an out-right "death trap"
Reserve driver Jo Schlesser was infamously killed after only a few laps of the French Grand Prix debut of the car. This marked the end of Honda's F1 effort as constructors until 2006.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Racing_F1#Early_success

Really interesting to realize that they have even more of a rich history in motorsport than I could've imagined. It must've taken a ton of effort and pain in order to get themselves racing all over the world against established European teams at the top tier of motorsport. Actually winning makes it even more special. Level of respect for Honda increased 👍

Just found this out while randomly looking through a bunch of info. on Honda engines in Wikipedia.
 
Yeah they look great! Can't believe this significant part of F1 history's been flying over my head the whole time.

White + Red = <3
 
Honda kind of dove head-first into F1 in 1964, and the car was plenty quick in qualifying in 1965, but not quite reliable enough to make it to the finish. Lotus was top dog at this time, but I always got the idea that most of the F1 teams of the time were planning for the new formula in 1966 with 3.0L engines, bigger cars with wider tires. Development was no where near the pace of today's modern formula cars, so Honda probably was ahead of the curve with their 1.5L V12, while Coventry Climax, Ferrari, and BRM were waiting it out, having been in favor of the new engine size back in '64.

Honda wasn't ready with their new car until Monza in 1966, so I get the idea they put all their effort into making an early statement, even winning the 1965 Mexican GP with Richie Ginther. The RA 273 was a dog, though more reliable, and for 1967 Honda went with a Lola chassis, and won the Italian GP when Clark's new DFV lost engine power on the last lap. The disaster of the all-new car in 1968 in Jo Schlesser's hands was something Honda took serious enough to quit F1 for many years.

Still, when you think about it, Honda really took it to the establishment and did quite well for a few years.
 
Yeah I knew, and so do many F1 fans here and on other forums. I actually have loved the car for the past 4 years. It wasn't that bad of a car either.

Robin.
Its also featured in this breathtaking Honda advert.

Click to expand...


No Civic used, yay!!!:dopey:

I too occasionally walk out of a trailer and do this exact same thing.

I wonder if anyone can name all those honda vehicles in that honda add.
 
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