The Honda RA272 was a Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 racing car used by the Honda team in the 1965 Formula One season

1965 Formula One season

The 1965 Formula One season, which was the 16th season of FIA Formula One racing, featured the 16th World Championship of Drivers and the 8th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers. The two titles were contested concurrently over a ten round series which commenced on January 1 and ended on October 24...

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A successor to the Honda RA271

Honda RA271

The Honda RA271 was Honda's second Formula One racing car, and its first to actually enter a race.The car was developed from the company's 1963 prototype, retrospectively designated RA270...

, the RA272 was noticeable mainly for its technically advanced (though rather wide and heavy) 48-valve 1,495.28 cc V12 engine (58.1 x 47.0 mm), a water-cooled, transversely

Transverse engine

A transverse engine is an engine mounted in a vehicle so that the engine's crankshaft axis is perpendicular to the long axis of the vehicle. Many modern front wheel drive vehicles use this engine mounting configuration...

 mounted unit which reportedly gave 230 bhp at 13,000 rpm. The engine was safe to 14,000 rpm, which was unusually high for a 1960s engine design. The Honda V12

V12 engine

A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....

 had staggering acceleration and often led the race into the opening lap after leaving the stationary starting grid. It led the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix

1965 Mexican Grand Prix

The 1965 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mexico City on October 24, 1965. The race, which was the tenth and final round of the 1965 Formula One season, was won by Richie Ginther who took his first victory and the first for the Honda team. after leading for the entire race...

 from start to finish, driven by Richie Ginther

Richie Ginther

Paul Richard "Richie" Ginther was a racecar driver from the United States. During a varied career, the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix saw Ginther take Honda's first Grand Prix victory, a victory which would also prove to be Ginther's only win in Formula One...

, making it the first Japanese car to win a Formula One Grand Prix.

The RA272 can be seen in the Honda

Honda

is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

marketing film "The Impossible Dream".http://www.thepowerofdreams.com/