Honda RA271

The Honda RA271 was Honda's first Formula One racing car to enter a race. The chief engineer on the project was Yoshio Nakamura, with Tadashi Kume in charge of engine development. It was driven in three races during 1964 by American driver Ronnie Bucknum. 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. Only one RA271 was built. The car is currently on display in the Honda Collection Hall at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan.