1/20 – Honda RA272 1965 Mexico Winner

1965 was Honda’s second year in Formula One, and the car they developed for that challenge was the RA272, a masterpiece of design that used an aluminum monocoque chassis and 1.5-liter V12 DOHC engine that was mounted midships behind the cockpit and whose 230hp was the class of the field. Improvements came throughout the season, including to the exhausts, cooling and steering systems, and the RA272 took third on the grid for the Mexico GP, the final race of 1965. In the race it passed Lotus and Brabham rivals to take a stunning victory that was the first for a Japanese manufacture in the pinnacle of motorsport, all the more impressive as it came just over a year after their debut.