The Honda RA272 was at the Maniwa Speed Festival, but it didn’t actually participate in the hill climb. That doesn’t mean it’s just a museum queen, though. The cars from the Honda Collection Hall are operable, and the No.12 Honda RA272 recently got taken for a spin by none other than two-time Indy 500 winner and former F1 driver Takuma Sato. The V12 sounds otherworldly as Sato gives it the full beans, revving it up to its 12,000-rpm redline.
The No.12 RA272 was the sister car to the No.11 racer that became the first Japanese car to win an F1 Grand Prix. Driven by Ronnie Bucknum, it came in fifth at the 1965 Mexican race that changed everything for Honda. In its final form the RA272 made an astounding 240 horsepower, and reportedly could exceed its redline for short stints of up to 14,000 rpm of sustained running. It’s an impressive engineering feat and auditory experience. We can only imagine what it would have sounded like echoing off the mountains of Okuyama, or piercing the thin air elevations of Mexico City, for that matter.
