Honda has announced the arrival of the Honda Racer, a 1/64th scale Hot Wheels miniature designed by Honda R&D Americas in Torrance. The Honda model is among six designs selected from as many manufacturers for the Hot Wheels Designer's Challenge, a way to celebrate the die-cast brand's 40th anniversary.
"The Honda Racer combines the excitement of Honda's racing heritage with Hot Wheels' reputation for speed, power, performance and attitude," says Guillermo Gonzalez, senior designer of Honda R&D Americas, Inc., and designer of the Honda Racer. "The core concept is built around our idea for an 'ultimate racecar' and leverages the design freedom made possible by a scale model car." The design of the Honda Racer debuted at the 2007 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas in October as a 1/5th scale model.
The key element to the design of the entire car is that the body is in the shape of the Honda "H" emblem. The exterior shape resembles an imaginative side-by-side racecar of 1960s vintage that encloses a driver and a navigator. The general shape, styling and white and red paint scheme is further inspired by Honda's early participation in Formula 1 racing and its 1967 RA 273 racecar. An imaginary Honda V-10 VTEC engine sits between the piloting team. If brought up to scale, the engine would displace an amazing 20 liters - yes, 2.0 liters per cylinder!
Other designs selected for the challenge line include : the Dodge's XP-07, designed by Mark Reisen; Ford's Gangster Grin, designed by Steve Gilmore; GM's Chevroletor, designed by Amaury Diaz-Serrano; Lotus' Concept, designed by Steven Crijns; Mitsubishi's Double Shotz, designed by Gary Ragle. Hot Wheels' own designer, Jun Imai, also designed a 40th anniversary concept miniature called appropriately HW-40.
The Honda Racer will arrive on store shelves in May 2008.
photo:Honda
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"The Honda Racer combines the excitement of Honda's racing heritage with Hot Wheels' reputation for speed, power, performance and attitude," says Guillermo Gonzalez, senior designer of Honda R&D Americas, Inc., and designer of the Honda Racer. "The core concept is built around our idea for an 'ultimate racecar' and leverages the design freedom made possible by a scale model car." The design of the Honda Racer debuted at the 2007 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas in October as a 1/5th scale model.
The key element to the design of the entire car is that the body is in the shape of the Honda "H" emblem. The exterior shape resembles an imaginative side-by-side racecar of 1960s vintage that encloses a driver and a navigator. The general shape, styling and white and red paint scheme is further inspired by Honda's early participation in Formula 1 racing and its 1967 RA 273 racecar. An imaginary Honda V-10 VTEC engine sits between the piloting team. If brought up to scale, the engine would displace an amazing 20 liters - yes, 2.0 liters per cylinder!
Other designs selected for the challenge line include : the Dodge's XP-07, designed by Mark Reisen; Ford's Gangster Grin, designed by Steve Gilmore; GM's Chevroletor, designed by Amaury Diaz-Serrano; Lotus' Concept, designed by Steven Crijns; Mitsubishi's Double Shotz, designed by Gary Ragle. Hot Wheels' own designer, Jun Imai, also designed a 40th anniversary concept miniature called appropriately HW-40.
The Honda Racer will arrive on store shelves in May 2008.
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photo:Honda
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