The automotive world is saddened today by news of the passing of Andreas Pininfarina, CEO of the renowned Italian design house responsible for everything from the Peugeot 403 to the Ferrari Enzo.
Pictured here is the Honda HP-X, unveiled at the 1984 Turin Motor Show. It’s powered by a 2.0L Formula 2 V6 mounted midship, just behind the two seats and wrapped in a sleek, Pininfarina-penned body.
Andreas Pininfarina was the grandson of founder Battista “Pinin” Farina, who in 1930 opened a small auto body shop that went on to become one of the most famous design studios in the world. The firm designed cars for a wide range of manufacturers, including Ford, Cadillac, Citroën, Volvo, BMLC, Jaguar, Rolls Royce and of course, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati and Ferrari.
Pininfarina’s cause of death was a motor scooter accident near Turin and he is survived by his wife and three children. His father Sergio is an honorary chairman of the company.
We’d just like to take some time out to wish our neighbors to the north an enjoyable, relaxing Civic Holiday. So grab a Molson and kick back, eh? Cheers, Canadian JNCers!
Honda held a ceremony in Tokyo yesterday to celebrate a half century of the Super Cub motorcycle, which went on sale in August, 1958. Although its engines have grown in size and technology, the basic design of the bike has remained the same. The Super Cub has been sold in over 160 countries and in April, Honda sold its 60 millionth unit. Clearly, it holds the record for best selling motorcycle of all time. (more…)
We all know that Hondas provide some of the best deals in cheap motoring fun, and Honda Japan knows this too. It’s been sponsoring a one-make race series in Japan since 1981, when the second-gen Super Civic debuted. From then on, some generation of Civic - Wonder, Grand, Sports, Miracle - has been the HOA (Honda One-Make Racing Association) chariot of choice until 2002 when the Integra took over. (more…)
We’re not sure how we became unhealthily obsessed with automobiles, but having kind parents who bought us Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars probably helped. It’s hard to believe that the little metal furniture scratchers will be 40 years old this year, but it’s true. And to celebrate, Mattel issued a Designer’s Challenge to stylists from actual car companies to come up with vehicles that represent the spirit of Hot Wheels.
We first saw them at the SEMA show last November, where one in particular caught our eye - the Honda H Racer. The red on Championship White paint job and tangle of exhaust pipes instantly evoked Soichiro’s F1 racers of the 60s in our one-track minds. Designer Guillermo Gonzalez also gave it a generous sprinkling of other Honda cues like red valve covers topping off the dual cams of a monster V10. In fact, the entire car is shaped like a Honda logo, with a driver and navigator sitting in each leg of the H. Time to break out the orange track.
Why yes, that is an airborne 1980 Toyota Tercel leaping over a herd of the now-extinct species Compactus domesticus. Plus a Honda. Though it began life in Japan in 1978, the Tercel arrived on our shores for the 1980 model year. It was the Big T’s first attempt at a front wheel drive vehicle, and apparently they really hadn’t nailed down the whole concept of FWD because the 1.5L inline four was still mounted longitudinally. Yet, unaccountably, they rub Honda’s nose in it.
Did the Tercel herald the coming of a revolutionary new layout to Toyota’s lineup or tragically symbolize the beginning of the end for rear wheel drive? Also, our readers ask in this forum thread, whether in 2020 the Tercel will be a classic or merely an old car. All we know is, any stuntwoman who can catch that much air in a car of any drivetrain configuration turns the keys to our hearts.
Last year we reported on this mysterious Honda Z600 with a jet engine protruding from where its rear window should have been. Armed only with some badly translated German, we boldly predicted “that any attempt at turning during full throttle in this thing would be [verboten] as well.” Well guess what? We called it! We called it! We called it like 1-800-Collect, baby! Ok, so it turns out you didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that a Garrett JFS100 turbine strapped to a kei car was not going to be a handling monster. And these imaginative Nee Zeelanders laugh in the face of rocket science, as well as in the face of their friend rolling over somewhat anticlimactically. Check out their videos here and here. And you thought this was the only jet powered Honda.
The automotive world is saddened today by news of the passing of Andreas Pininfarina, CEO of the renowned Italian design house responsible for everything from the Peugeot 403 to the Ferrari Enzo.
