Honda to open motorsports museum at Suzuka Circuit

Add another destination to your next trip to Japan, because Honda will soon open a new museum at Suzuka Circuit dedicated to motorsports. The Honda Racing Gallery’s grand opening this spring will coincide with the company’s 60th anniversary in Formula 1, which took place at the 1964 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.

The museum will let visitors experience Honda’s racing efforts over the years and explain the challenges and technologies of each era. The main hall will house a permanent exhibit of historic race cars that’s a who’s who of Honda Formula 1 royalty. Taking center stage will be the 1965 RA272, the first Honda race car to win an F1 Grand Prix, displayed next to Max Verstappen’s Drivers’ Championship 2021 RedBull Honda RB16B.

Also on permanent display will be the 1988 McLaren Honda MP4/4 and 1991 McLaren Honda MP4/6, which bookended the Ayrton Senna era of four consecutive world championships, Nigel Mansell’s championship-winning 1987 Williams-Honda FW11B, and the 1967 Italian Grand Prix-winning Honda RA300. Other cars and a succession of Honda F1 engines over the years will be part of the exhibit as well.

A separate hall on the lower level will have a rotating exhibit of cars of varying themes. For the grand opening, the theme will be the Japanese Grand Prix itself, with a roster that includes a 1988 Lotus-Honda 100T and 2021 Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda AT02. Honda says that future themed exhibits will showcase SuperGT, the Japanese Super Formula Championship, and Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race.

Honda already has one of the best car museums in Japan in the Honda Collection Hall in Tochigi Prefecture (not to be confused with the American Honda Collection Hall), a must-see for automotive pilgrimage to Japan. It recently underwent a remodel, which now makes sense as Honda likely wanted to shuffle some cars around to its newest museum. The Honda Racing Gallery opens at Suzuka Circuit on April 5, 2024, the first day of the Japanese Grand Prix.