The car was developed from the company's 1963 prototype, retrospectively designated RA270. It was developed around Honda's revolutionary F1 engine, a 1.5 L V12, at a time when V8s dominated the F1 paddock, as constructed by BRM, Climax, Ferrari and ATS. The only other major manufacturer deviating from the received V8 wisdom were Ferrari, who experimented with both V6 and flat-12 layouts, although they ultimately elected to stick with their V8. No other manufacturers were running V12s at the time. The RA271 made its race debut during the 1964 Formula One season, just one year after Honda started producing road cars, and was the first Japanese-built car ever to enter a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship.
The RA271 was created by Japanese development engineer Yoshio Nakamura, who had been with Honda since 1958 and had already worked as development project manager on the RA270 F1 prototype the previous year and the S360 sports car project, which was launched in 1962. The car was based on the RA270 prototype and was designed around the new Honda V12 engine, which was revolutionary in the sport at the time, as up until that point, only V8s had been used, to good affect.[further explanation needed]
The regulations at the time stipulated a 1.5L engine without supercharger,[2] and the standard way of achieving this was using a V8. The Honda engineers, however, decided to use a V12 instead. In engineering terms, more cylinders generally allow smaller and lighter moving parts, higher rotational speeds and thus a greater peak power. It was these facts that the Honda engineers intended to exploit.
The car was constructed at Honda's facility in the Yaesu neighbourhood of Tokyo.
The RA271 was constructed with an aluminiummonocoque,[1] a design pioneered by Colin Chapman and his Lotus team two years earlier and in use on his Lotus 25 and 33 models, which won world championships for Jim Clark in 1963 and 1965. This was still a fairly unusual concept, however, with other leading cars such as Brabham's BT11 and Ferrari's 156 F1 using an old fashioned tubular spaceframe set-up. However, a tubular rear subframe was employed to aid repair and maintenance. These combined left a car weighing around 525kg, significantly over the minimum weight limit (450kg).[2] Its larger engine also meant it was significantly heavier than most of its rivals; the Ferrari 158 weighed just 468kg.[4]
When it was presented to the public, the RA271 was liveried in what was to become Honda's traditional racing colours: ivory coloured bodywork with a red rising sun on the cowling, really marking Honda out as representatives of Japan.
This bodywork covered the RA271's suspension, another feature pioneered by Chapman, this time on his Lotus 21 design.[5] By 1964, Brabham were the only major competitor persisting with outboard suspension. Somewhat unusually, the RA271's front and rear suspension set-ups were identical. These consisted of a double wishbone set-up with inboard coilover spring and damper units. A double wishbone front set-up was fairly common, but the only other team using it on the rear was BRM for their P261 chassis, although this rear suspension was outboard. The car ran on 13" Dunlop alloys both front and rear, with disc brakes also manufactured by Dunlop. The rear brakes were three sixteenths of an inch (5 mm) larger than the fronts.
Engine and transmission
Engine and transaxle
Honda's F1 engine, the RA271E, was designed by Tadashi Kume and built in the same facility as the car, useful for design purposes. This was an advantage for teams such as Honda, Ferrari and Porsche, who built their engines in house, as opposed to others such as Brabham and Lotus, who bought theirs in from outside. The RA271E was a normally aspirated unit with twelve cylinders in a 'V' formation. The design featured twelve separate exhausts, six on each side of the body, which made the car very distinctive as opposed to the 'four-into-one' layout preferred by the V8 teams. The engine was water-cooled with nose-mounted radiators.
The engine dimensions of the 1965 48-valve V12 were 58.1x47.0mm, 1,495.28cc. Power output of 230bhp (170kW) @ 13,000rpm was quoted—this was the most powerful F1 engine of 1965. The engine was safe to 14,000rpm. Since the 1967 4-cylinder 498.57cc engine (57.5x48.0mm) eventually gave almost 90bhp (67kW) at 12,600rpm, the V12 had the potential of 270bhp (200kW) with further development. It used 12 Keihin carburetors, one for each cylinder, later to be replaced by low-pressure fuel injection before entry into the Italian GP.
Honda also built their own gearbox for the project, a six-speed sequential shift box.
As well as Honda's F1 debut, this race was also the debut for their American driver Ronnie Bucknum,[7] and to make things even trickier the race took place on the daunting Nürburgring circuit, widely considered to be one of the most demanding in the world.[8] Of the 24 entrants, only the fastest 22 would qualify. Bucknum was lucky to qualify as he ended the practice sessions third-slowest. The two non-qualifiers were the Scirocco-Climax of Belgian driver André Pilette, which was hopelessly off the pace, and Carel Godin de Beaufort, who was killed during the session in a tragic accident at the wheel of his privately entered Porsche718. Bucknum was some 20 seconds slower than the next slowest competitor, Giancarlo Baghetti at the wheel of a BRM, and almost a minute off the pole time of John Surtees's Ferrari.[9]
Despite a poor qualifying, Bucknum had a better race and consistently ran just outside the top ten throughout the race, ahead of many of the independent Lotus and BRM entrants. Despite a spin late in the race, allowing Richie Ginther's BRM to pass him, the reliability of the Honda allowed him to finish 13th as many of his rivals broke down (or crashed in Peter Revson's case), four laps behind winner Surtees.[10][11]
The team then missed the Austrian Grand Prix before returning for the Italian Grand Prix at the iconic Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Bucknum's qualifying was greatly improved as he qualified 10th, ahead of the Brabham of double world champion Jack Brabham and comfortably clear of the mark required to qualify for the race as one of the 20 fastest drivers. He was only three seconds shy of Surtees, who was the pole sitter once again, and this marked a huge improvement for the Japanese team.[12]
Although a poor start left him down in 16th, he quickly climbed through the field and ran as high as 7th before a brake failure forced him out of the race on lap 13. His ability to keep pace with the works BRM and Brabham cars in this race gave great hope for the future of Honda in F1.[13][14]
The next race was the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. As there were only 19 entrants, there was no threat of failing to qualify, and Bucknum was well within three seconds of Jim Clark's pole time for Lotus. The high quality of the field, however, meant that he was down in 14th place, although he did outqualify 1961 world champion Phil Hill, now driving for Cooper.[15] He once again ran the race just outside the top ten, fighting for long periods with the Lotuses of Walt Hansgen (works) and Mike Hailwood (RPR) and Richie Ginther's BRM. However, on lap 51 a cylinder head gasket in one of the Honda's twelve cylinders failed, and Bucknum was out of the race.[16][17]
This was to be the end of Honda's debut season, as they did not travel to the final race in Mexico City. The RA271 was replaced for 1965 by the RA272, so its best result remains 13th place at its debut race in Germany. Its best grid place was Bucknum's 10th place at Monza.
British Racing Motors (BRM) was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945 and based in the market town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, it participated from 1951 to 1977, competing in 197 grands prix and winning seventeen. BRM won the constructors' title in 1962 when its driver Graham Hill became world champion. In 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1971, BRM came second in the constructors' competition.
The 1961 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 8, 1961, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was the eighth and final race in both the 1961 World Championship of Drivers and the 1961 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.
The 1962 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Rouen-Les-Essarts on 8 July 1962. It was race 4 of 9 in both the 1962 World Championship of Drivers and the 1962 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was won by Dan Gurney, his first Formula One victory, driving a Porsche, that company's only win as a constructor in a Formula One championship race coming after three years of racing. It was the third time that the French Grand Prix was held at Rouen, last time being 1957.
The 1962 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Nürburgring on 5 August 1962. It was race 6 of 9 in both the 1962 World Championship of Drivers and the 1962 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 15-lap race was won by BRM driver Graham Hill after he started from second position. John Surtees finished second for the Lola team and Porsche driver Dan Gurney came in third. The race was notable for having six different constructors taking the first six positions.
The 1962 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 7, 1962, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 8 of 9 in both the 1962 World Championship of Drivers and the 1962 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 100-lap race was won by Lotus driver Jim Clark after starting from pole position. Graham Hill finished second for the BRM team and Cooper driver Bruce McLaren came in third.
The 1963 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 6, 1963, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 8 of 10 in both the 1963 World Championship of Drivers and the 1963 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 110-lap race was won by BRM driver Graham Hill after he started from pole position. His teammate Richie Ginther finished second and Lotus driver Jim Clark came in third.
The 1964 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 4, 1964, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 9 of 10 in both the 1964 World Championship of Drivers and the 1964 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 110-lap race was won by BRM driver Graham Hill after he started from fourth position. John Surtees finished second for the Ferrari team and Brabham driver Jo Siffert came in third.
The 1965 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 3, 1965, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 9 of 10 in both the 1965 World Championship of Drivers and the 1965 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 110-lap race was won by BRM driver Graham Hill after he started from pole position. Dan Gurney finished second for the Brabham team and his teammate Jack Brabham came in third.
The 1965 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca in Mexico City on October 24, 1965. It was race 10 of 10 in both the 1965 World Championship of Drivers and the 1965 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was won by Richie Ginther, who took his first and only victory, first for the Honda team and, excluding the Indianapolis 500, first win for the non-European team, after leading for the entire race. The Brabham-Climax of Dan Gurney finished the race second and the Lotus-Climax of Mike Spence completed the podium.
The 1966 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 4 September 1966. It was race 7 of 9 in both the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was the 36th Italian Grand Prix and the 32nd to be held at Monza. The race was held over 68 laps of the five kilometre circuit for a race distance of 391 kilometres.
The 1966 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 2, 1966, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 8 of 9 in both the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was the ninth United States Grand Prix. It was the sixth to be held at Watkins Glen. The race was held over 108 laps of the 3.78-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 408 kilometres.
The 1968 Formula One season was the 22nd season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 19th FIA World Championship, which commenced on 1 January, and ended on 3 November after twelve races, and numerous non-championship races. Graham Hill won the second of his World Championship titles, with Lotus.
The 1961 Formula One season was the 15th season of Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1961 World Championship of Drivers and the 1961 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, which were contested concurrently from 14 May to 8 October over an eight race series. The season also included numerous non-championship races for Formula One cars.
The 1960 Formula One season was the 14th season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 11th FIA World Championship of Drivers, the third International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and numerous non-championship Formula One races. The World Championship commenced on 7 February and ended on 20 November after ten races.
The Honda RA272 was a Formula One racing car designed by Yoshio Nakamura and Shoichi Sano for the 1965 Formula One season. It was the first Japanese car to win in Formula One, achieving victory at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix after leading every lap with driver Richie Ginther. The win came just two years after Honda started producing road cars, and was the first of 89 victories for Honda-powered Formula One cars.
The Honda RA300 was a Formula One racing car produced by Honda Racing, and introduced towards the end of the 1967 Formula One season. It retained the same V12 engine as the preceding RA273 car, but the chassis was designed by Lola's Eric Broadley and based on a previous Lola Indianapolis 500 car, the T90. Internally, Lola designated the RA300 the T130. This collaboration resulted in the machine quickly being dubbed the "Hondola" by the motorsports press.
The Brabham BT19 is a Formula One racing car designed by Ron Tauranac for the British Brabham team. The BT19 competed in the 1966 and 1967 Formula One World Championships and was used by Australian driver Jack Brabham to win his third World Championship in 1966. The BT19, which Brabham referred to as his "Old Nail", was the first car bearing its driver's name to win a World Championship race.
The BRM P261, also known as the BRM P61 Mark II, is a Formula One motor racing car, designed and built by the British Racing Motors team in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. The BRM P261 was introduced for the 1964 Formula One season, and its design was an evolution of Tony Rudd's one-off BRM P61 car of 1963. The P261 had a relatively long racing career; variants of the car were still being entered for Formula One World Championship Grands Prix as late as 1968. During the course of their front-line career, BRM P261s won six World Championship races, in the hands of works drivers Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart, and finished second in both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings in 1964 and 1965. Stewart, Hill and Richard Attwood also used works P261s to compete in the Tasman Series in 1966. The BRMs dominated, with Stewart winning four, Hill two, and Attwood one of the 1966 Tasman Series' eight races. Stewart also won the title. The works-backed Reg Parnell Racing team returned in 1967 with Stewart and Attwood, where Stewart added another two wins to his tally. In terms of races won and total championship points scored, the P261 was the most successful car in BRM's history.
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Ronnie Bucknum 
