Honda Race Cars

1. 1965 Honda RA272

At the final race of the 1965 season, the Mexican Grand Prix, the RA272 achieved its destiny, securing Honda's first-ever Formula One win.

The Honda RA272 stands as a landmark achievement in motorsport history, a symbol of Japanese engineering prowess and ambition. Entering Formula One in 1964, Honda was determined to make its mark on the international stage. The RA272, their second F1 car, embodied this ambition. Its striking ivory white bodywork, adorned with a rising sun, housed a revolutionary 1.5-liter V12 engine. This powerplant, a masterpiece of engineering, was unique in its transverse mounting and produced an astounding 230 horsepower at a screaming 13,000 RPM.

The RA272's design was as innovative as its engine. Lightweight and compact, it featured a sleek, aerodynamic body and advanced suspension. This combination of power and agility made it a formidable contender, but its early outings were plagued by reliability issues. Driven by American drivers Richie Ginther and Ronnie Bucknum, the car showed flashes of brilliance but often failed to finish races. However, Honda's persistence paid off.

At the final race of the 1965 season, the Mexican Grand Prix, the RA272 achieved its destiny. Ginther, a skilled and experienced driver, piloted the car to a dominant victory, leading every lap and securing Honda's first-ever Formula One win.

This triumph marked a historic moment, not only for Honda but for Japanese motorsport. The RA272 proved that Japan could compete and win at the highest level of international racing, paving the way for future generations of Japanese drivers and manufacturers. This iconic machine remains a testament to Honda's unwavering pursuit of excellence and its enduring legacy in the world of motorsports.

2. 1967 Honda RA300

A flash of brilliance, this was the great "one-lap wonder" of Formula 1

The Honda RA300 holds a unique place in Formula One history as a fleeting marvel. Introduced late in the 1967 season, it was a product of collaboration, born out of frustration with the performance of Honda's in-house chassis. Driver John Surtees, a champion in both motorcycle and car racing, pushed for a partnership with Lola Cars, renowned for their agile and lightweight designs. The result was a hybrid, nicknamed the "Hondola," featuring a powerful Honda V12 engine nestled within a modified Lola T90 chassis, originally designed for the Indianapolis 500.  

This unlikely marriage of Japanese power and British handling proved an instant success. In its debut race, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Surtees wrestled the RA300 to victory, capitalizing on late-race misfortunes for Jim Clark and Jack Brabham. This triumph marked the car's only win and, remarkably, the only lap it ever led in a Formula One race. Despite its brief moment of glory, the RA300 remained a competitive force for the remainder of the season, securing a fourth-place finish in Mexico.

The RA300's legacy is one of a brilliant flash of brilliance, a testament to the potential unlocked by combining expertise from different worlds. It served as a crucial stepping stone for Honda's Formula One program, paving the way for future developments and solidifying their commitment to innovation and pushing the boundaries of motorsport engineering. Though ultimately a short-lived design, the "Hondola" remains a captivating symbol of ingenuity and a reminder that sometimes, the most unexpected combinations can yield extraordinary results.

3. 1995 Honda NSX GT2

Its Le Mans victory cemented its legendary status, proving that the NSX was not just a supercar, but a true endurance racing champion.

The 1995 Honda NSX GT2 was a beast unleashed upon the GT racing scene, a testament to Honda's ability to transform a road-going icon into a track weapon. Built to compete in the FIA GT Championship, this car was a homologation special, meaning it was a race car built for the track but derived from a production model. Compared to its street-legal counterpart, the NSX GT2 was stripped down, lightened, and fortified for endurance racing. Its aluminum bodywork was honed for aerodynamic efficiency, while its 3.0-liter V6 engine was tuned to produce a screaming 400 horsepower, a significant boost over the standard NSX.

What made the NSX GT2 truly special was its balance. Honda's engineers meticulously crafted the car to be nimble and responsive, with exceptional handling characteristics that allowed drivers to extract the maximum from its performance. This agility, combined with its potent engine and robust reliability, made it a formidable competitor against established rivals like Porsche and Ferrari. Its most iconic moment came at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans, where a privately entered NSX GT2, driven by a Japanese trio including Keiichi Tsuchiya, defied expectations. Despite starting last and six laps down due to a technical issue, the team mounted a furious comeback, ultimately winning the GT2 class and finishing an impressive 8th overall.

4. 2005 Honda Integra Type R

By fitting the internals of the Honda Civic Type R that had been competing in the BTCC since 2002, Team Dynamics created a weapon.

In 2005, Team Dynamics took advantage of a loophole in the British Touring Car Championship regulations that allowed cars to enter, whether they were on sale in the United Kingdom or not. They converted a pair of Honda Integra Japanese imports into BTC Touring spec racing cars, using the internals from the moderately successful Honda Civic Type R that had been competing in the BTCC since 2002.

The car was an instant hit, winning its debut race at Donington Park despite only having a limited amount of testing. Matt Neal scored points in every single race to take his first BTCC title - the first for a privateer driver in the modern era. He repeated the feat in 2006 and by that point, five cars had been built, all of them race winners in the hands of the Dynamics drivers, before being passed into the hands of various independent teams.

The cars remained in the championship until 2011, in the hands of Lea Wood, even finishing 7th at Oulton Park in that final season - an impressive result for a car that had been built 6 years previously. Indeed, it was the last of the BTC-Touring spec cars to be used in the BTCC; and was only finally retired as cars built to these regulations could no longer compete in 2012.