HONDA The Power of Dreams

In the early 1960s, when Honda, having established itself as a motorcycle manufacturer, set its sights on entering the automobile market and competing in F1, its role in car racing was as an engine supplier. In fact, Honda was on the verge of signing a contract with Team Lotus to supply engines, and was scheduled to compete in the 1964 F1 Grand Prix as Lotus Honda. However, the situation changed drastically in February 1964, just prior to signing the contract and delivering the engines, when word came that the contract had been cancelled. This would normally mean shelving of the project, but Honda decided to go its own way, creating the chassis and entering tF1 as an engine supplier and constructor.

The RA271, which was being prepared as the next test vehicle, based on the “#0” RA270, which had been built as a test bed for engine evaluation, was hastily designed as the chassis for actual racing. The car had nothing in common with the RA270 except for the transversely mounted V12 engine, and it was designed as a brand-new original chassis.

What was novel about the RA271 was that its designer, Shoichi Sano, decided to use an aluminum monocoque and chose a 12-cylinder layout for the 1.5-liter engine. The V12 engine, in particular, was a rare layout that had never been attempted in F1 at that time, even if it had been considered. Even in Europe and the United States, a V12 was considered too much for a 1.5 liter. It is reported that even Honda explained that “125cc (x12) is a displacement that is common with motorcycles” to the development team, who opposed the idea. Honda, which was to compete in F1 with its own chassis, adopted a unique monocoque / space frame configuration for the RA271 in order to make room for the transversely mounted 60-degree V12 engine that incorporated technology from motorcycle racing engines. This idea could be said to be a precursor to using the engine as a stress member, which was perfected later with the Lotus 49 with the Ford DFV. The front and rear suspensions were also original, showing Honda’s challenging spirit at the time. The completed RA271E engine produced more than 220hp, an advantage of 10 to 20hp over the Climax engines used by other teams. A fuel injection system was also introduced from the Italian GP.

The RA271 with a transversely mounted 1.5-liter V12 engine was highly commended as original, but it was not particularly novel for Honda, nor was the center takeoff system surprising for a motorcycle manufacturer.

The rear suspension used an inboard spring with the coil spring on the chassis side, and although the layout of the RA271 was a complicated mechanism, wind tunnel tests confirmed a 10% reduction in aerodynamic drag (compared to the RA270).

The RA271’s debut was the Round 6, the German GP in August 1964. A shakedown was held one month prior to the race.The driver chosen was American Ronnie Bucknam, a young and unknown driver in F1, who finished the German GP in 13th place with numerous problems, especially overheating. He then raced in Italy and the U.S., where he also retired. The results alone indicate he did not score any points, as he retired from two of the three races, but it was early days. In the second race, the Italian GP, Honda changed the fuel system from a carburetor (made by Keihin) to a fuel injection system, and a high-speed nose fairing was adopted. In the third race, the U.S. GP, the nose fairing was again redesigned and an oil cooler was added. The brake ducts were also enlarged. These improvements were put to good use in 1965. The more mature chassis and engine would come to fruition in the final race of the season as the RA272, and in the 1965 Mexican GP, Honda would win its first race with driver Richie Ginther.