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StarLight Garage presents the classic Formula One car by Honda, the RA272 from 1965. The first Japanese car to win a Formula One Grand Prix. Unbelievable that such an important car for the Japanese motorsport, especially the Formula One is not in the GT series.
A tribute to Honda!
Around 1960s Honda had established as a successful motorcycle manufacturer and wanted to go one step further on four wheels. The first car they made was the S500, which was introduced at the Tokyo Motorshow in 1962. It still relied heavenly on motorcycle technology with a 500 cc overhead camshaft engine. The racing motorcycles racked up victory after victory so it was only logical for Honda to enter in motorsport as well. What would be a better platform to showcase their abilities than Formula One?
The first Formula One programme did not go altogether according to the initial plan. In the 1960s designer Tadashi Kume had an engine ready but no car. Colin Chapman talked of designing a Lotus with a Honda engine for Jim Clark to drive, but the plans don't carry on. Honda needed a starting-point from which to set out its own design and since Cooper had just won two world championships, a Formula One Cooper-Climax was bought and shipped to Japan.
The Kume designed engine was not suited for the Cooper chassis so Honda decided to built their own chassis. The car Honda built was more radical than the Cooper-Climax.
Instead of the bent-tube frame with the 4-cylinder engine in-line at the rear, the little Honda had a 60-degree V12 engine mounted transversely behind the driver.
In 1964, V8s from BRM and Coventry-Climax were seasoned campaigners. The V6s, V8s, and flat-12s from Ferrari and Porsche with its air-cooled flat-8, reaching there maturity. The Honda was a radical little V12, with needle roller crankshaft bearings, revving to 11,500rpm, in a semi-monocoque chassis with tubular rear sub-frames and inboard springs.
Dubbed RA272, the sophisticated F1 racer made its debut early in 1965. Throughout the season, it could keep up the pace with its European rivals. The final race of the season and the final race of the 1.5 litre class was held at the Mexico circuit.
The Hondas ran well from the first day of practice. Ginther took the lead from the second row of the grid behind Jim Clark (Lotus-Climax), and Dan Gurney (Brabham-Climax), and by the end of the first lap he was 300 yards ahead. Gurney came no closer than 2.0sec. Ginther never had to rev the RA272 Honda above 11,000rpm, and achieved the first victory by a Japanese car since the dawn of grand prix racing in 1906.
The significance of the event was not lost on the world of motor racing. The last race of the last season under the old rules was also the last race under the old regime, in which European supremacy was scarcely challenged.
Specifications
Country of origin: Japan
Produced in: 1965
Numbers built: three
Engine
Configuration: 60º V12
Location: Mid, transversely mounted
Displacement: 1.495 liter / 91.2 cu in
Bore / Stroke: 58.1 mm (2.3 in) / 47.0 mm (1.9 in)
Valvetrain: 4 valves / cylinder, DOHC
Fuel feed: Keihin-Honda Fuel Injection
Aspiration: Naturally Aspirated
Power: 230 bhp / 172 KW @ 12000 rpm
BHP/Liter: 154 bhp / liter
Drivetrain
Chassis: Semi-monocoque, rear subframe
Suspension (fr/r): Double wishbones, coil springs over Koni dampers
Steering: Rack-and-pinion
Brakes: Discs, all-round
Gearbox: 6 speed Manual
Drive: Rear wheel drive
Dimensions
Weight 497 kilo / 1095.7 lbs
Wheelbase / Track (fr/r): 2289 mm (90.1 in) / 1349 mm (53.1 in) / 1674 mm (65.9 in)
Performance figures
Power to weight: 0.46 bhp / kg
THE OTHER HONDAS ARE HERE:
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