Honda RA272 Scale Model by Amalgam Unveiled at Monterey Car Week
Honda Racing Corporation announces a premium scale model of the legendary Honda RA272 (chassis #103), honouring the car that delivered Honda’s first Formula 1 victory at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix. Created with Amalgam Collection, this collector’s model showcases authentic painted livery, hand-built bodywork and more than 1,600 precisely engineered parts, including a fully replicated Honda V12 engine, to celebrate an icon of F1 history.
HRC will offer the RA272 model in two sizes. The 1:8 scale edition is limited to 30 examples at $28,995 USD. The 1:18 scale edition is limited to 300 at $1,735 USD. Each model arrives with a bespoke display case, a certificate of authenticity and a commemorative booklet signed by Honda Racing Corporation President Koji Watanabe. Collectors can purchase both editions during Monterey Car Week at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion on 15 to 16 August.
Founded in 1985, Amalgam Collection produces unrivalled scale models of the world’s most iconic and luxurious cars using the finest materials. The team travelled to the Honda Collection Hall in Motegi, Japan, to capture accurate digital scans of the original vehicle, enabling them to recreate every detail at scale. They invested more than 4,500 hours in development, and each model takes 450 hours to build.
"This RA272 model is more than a tribute; it's an invitation to own a piece of our motorsport history. Racing is deeply embedded in the DNA of Honda, and this model is a reminder of where our success began," said Koji Watanabe, President, Honda Racing Corporation (HRC). "We are so excited to offer this unique piece of Honda racing history to the fans. The RA272 model is a great addition to the growing HRC collectables, and we can't wait for people to see it in person during Monterey Car Week," said Meliza Humphrey, General Manager, Merchandise and Memorabilia, HRC US.
Amalgam crafted the patterns for the model from exceptionally accurate digital scans taken at the Honda Collection Hall and from hundreds of in-period photographs of the original car from the 1965 season, with a focus on its Mexican GP specification. The team used these patterns to create silicone rubber moulds that capture every detail. They cast parts in prototyping resin from the silicone moulds, producing around 20 to 30 parts per mould before creating a new one. Each 1:8 scale model comprises 1,600 parts, including castings, photo-etchings and CNC-machined metal components. The team finishes the bodywork with genuine car paints matched to the archive colour references. In total, around 4,500 hours went into developing the tooling for the 1:8 model, and a further 450 hours went into casting, fitting, fettling, painting and final assembly of each piece.
Engineered for Honda’s second season in Formula 1, the RA272 succeeded the RA271. A team of motorcycle engineers led by Soichiro Honda began work on the V-12 in 1962, before Honda had sold a single car. The RA272 featured a technically advanced 1.5-litre V12 producing 230 hp, the most powerful engine in the sport at the time. The transverse-mounted unit revved to 12,000 rpm and gained a reputation for innovative engineering. In 1965, Honda was only in its second year of the car business, yet the company set ambitious goals and embraced bold challenges. In October 1965, the mid-engined RA272 shocked the world by winning the Mexican Grand Prix. These models depict chassis RA272F-103 as raced to victory by Richie Ginther. That win marked the first Formula 1 triumph for a Japanese car, engine and team, inspiring worldwide respect for Japanese automotive technology and reaffirming Honda’s commitment to innovation and excellence.
Amalgam’s craftspeople are recognised globally for hand-made large-scale models that capture the style and spirit of each car. For owners whose cars already feature in a limited 1:8 edition, Amalgam offers a tailor-made service that customises a model to match the specification of the owner’s car. For unique, very high-value cars, Amalgam produces larger one-off builds at 1:5 or 1:4 from its UK workshops in Bristol, England. The team will digitally scan the vehicle wherever it sits in the world and take up to a thousand photographs of every detail to achieve an accurate, faithful replication at scale. Given the extensive development time, costs are significant, so the team builds at a vast scale to maximise impact and detail and to deliver the ultimate finished piece.
Amalgam’s design, management and development base is in England, with highly skilled teams producing larger editions in Hungary and China. This multinational, multicultural group of craftsmen and women creates some of the world’s most precise, beautiful and exclusive models. Inspired by F1 teams and iconic luxury car marques of England and Italy that they serve and partner with, they take great pride in capturing each design and honouring the designers, drivers and creators of the automotive art they love.
Honda Racing Corporation USA, known as HRC US, brings a rich heritage of creating, manufacturing and supporting Honda Racing and Acura Motorsports customers since its founding in 1993 as Honda Performance Development. In January 2024, HPD became HRC US by joining with HRC Japan to strengthen the company’s overall motorsport capabilities. From top-tier racing in IndyCar and IMSA sports cars to commercial racing programmes, HRC US leads all Honda and Acura high-performance racing programmes in North America and will contribute to Formula One power unit development and race support from 2026.
HRC US specialises in the design and development of powertrain, chassis, electronics and performance parts, alongside comprehensive technical and race support. The company also supplies parts and race support to Honda and Acura amateur and professional motorsport entrants. It continues to expand programmes that make Honda racing products available across disciplines from karting and quarter midgets to the highest levels of professional racing.
