It’s been over fifty years since Honda first had a go at making a Formula One engine. Whilst the latest one has an interesting and complex gravelly tone, the F1 community still seems to be divided over the sound of this generation of cars. There can be no denying the sonorous beauty of one of Honda’s first efforts however, as you can hear in this video of a test run at Motegi.
This is the RA272, the car Honda used for their first full season of Formula One back in 1965. At the time rules stipulated a maximum engine capacity of 1.5 litres and Honda’s V12 was one of the best. The car became known for making epic starts, and in the hands of American driver Richie Ginther they won the season finale at Mexico.
With the Mexican Grand Prix returning to the calendar this year, a win for Alonso or Button there would be a fitting result – though I’m sure they’ll be hoping for results sooner than that.