The Honda RA300 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 produced by Honda Racing, and introduced halfway through the 1967 Formula One season

1967 Formula One season

The 1967 Formula One season was the 18th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1967 World Championship of Drivers and the 1967 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over an eleven race series which commenced on January 2, 1967, and ended on October 22...

. It retained the same 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....

 engine as the preceding RA273

Honda RA273

The Honda RA273 was a Formula One racing car used by the Honda team in the 1966 and 1967 Formula One seasons.The engine was re-designed from the RA272's 1,500cc V12 to a brand new 3,000cc V12 due to the change of regulations before the 1966 season...

 car, but the chassis was designed by Lola's Eric Broadley

Eric Broadley

Eric Broadley MBE is a British entrepreneur, engineer, and founder and former chief designer of Lola Cars, the motor racing manufacturer and engineering company. He is arguably one of the most influential automobile designers of the post-war period, and over the years Lola has had a hand in many...

 and based on a previous Lola Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

 car. This collaboration resulted in the machine being quickly dubbed the Hondola by the motorsports press.

Broadley's chassis was much lighter and sweeter handling than the previous in-house design. The car initially performed impressively, winning in its first ever World Championship race at the 1967 Italian Grand Prix

1967 Italian Grand Prix

The 1967 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 10, 1967. It was won by British driver John Surtees driving a Honda RA300. Jim Clark led the race until a little after the half way point when he picked up a puncture and lost an entire lap. He...

. Driver John Surtees

John Surtees

John Surtees, OBE is a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver from England. He was 500cc motorcycle World Champion in 1956 and 1958–60, Formula One World Champion in 1964, and remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels...

 took the lead from Jim Clark

Jim Clark

James "Jim" Clark, Jr OBE was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965....

's Lotus

Team Lotus

Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...

 and Jack Brabham

Jack Brabham

Sir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham, AO, OBE is an Australian former racing driver who was Formula One champion in , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name....

's Brabham on the final lap, after Clark ran out of fuel and Brabham ran wide. However, the RA300 flattered to deceive, and this would turn out to be the only lap that an RA300 would lead, and it never again took a World Championship victory. It remains the only F1 car ever to take its single victory in its very first Grand Prix, and on the only lap it would ever lead.

The remainder of the 1967 season saw Surtees collect only three more points, with a fourth place at the 1967 Mexican Grand Prix

1967 Mexican Grand Prix

The 1967 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One held at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 22, 1967.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Jim Clark - 1:47.56* Fastest Lap: Jim Clark - 1:48.13...

. The car was superseded in the following season by the Honda RA301

Honda RA301

The Honda RA301 was a Formula One racing car produced by Honda Racing for the 1968 Formula One season. It was introduced during the 1968 Spanish Grand Prix, the second round of the season....

, a design closely based on the RA300. However, this did not improve Honda's results, Surtees only managing to finish four of the season's twelve events.
The 48-valve V12 Honda first appeared at the 1966 Italian GP driven by Richie Ginther (USA). In spite of weighing 740 kg (dry) it was capable of spinning the rear tyres at 100 mph in third gear. With cylinder dimensions of 78.0 x 52.2 mm 2,993.17 cc, a target of 400-440 bhp @ 12,000 rpm was quoted. The engine used by John Surtees at the 1967 Italian GP was quoted by Motoring News as developing only 396 bhp, but with improved torque and response. The vehicle weight excess over the 500 kg minimum had been approximately halved.

PC simulation

A detailed, driveable replica of the Honda RA300 appeared in 1998 as part of the F1 1967 lineup of cars in the Grand Prix Legends

Grand Prix Legends

Grand Prix Legends is a computer racing simulator developed by Papyrus Design Group and published in 1998 by Sierra Entertainment...

PC-based racing simulation. Although officially called the Murasama due to a licensing rights issue, it was soon referred to as the Honda (or 'White Whale') by users. Visually it was extensively upgraded by the GPLEA modding team after 1999 to resemble the real RA300 in detail.

Also appeared in "F1 1967 mod" for rFactor simulation game.

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