Honda is collaborating with Amalgam to make a small run of hand-built RA272 Formula 1 car miniature models. The run will include 30 units at 1:8 scale for $28,995, and 300 in 1:18 scale for $1,735. So, not the kind of thing you should let your little nephew bash against your baseboard. But they sure do look gorgeous.
The Japanese automaker is commemorating the 60th anniversary of its first F1 win at the 1965 Mexico Grand Prix with these art pieces. Each uses 1,600 “precision-engineered parts” and comes with a signed certificate of authenticity and commemorative booklet from HRC President Koji Watanabe. Amalgam is a well-established purveyor of super-fine car models and has offered quite a few automotive miniatures with five-figure price tags, so it’s a logical partner for such a project.
These new Honda models will be trotted out to the public at The Quail, an exclusive car show shindig that takes place during and near Monterey Car Week. It’s as good a spot as any to show off multi-thousand-dollar models; tickets to get into that party are something like $1,500. There will definitely be people there who can find $28,995 in their couch cushions.
Honda says that around 4,500 hours were spent developing the tooling to make the 1:8-scale model, with another 450 hours spent casting, painting, dialing in, and assembling each model.
“The patterns for the model were created using extraordinarily accurate digital scans captured in the Honda Collection Hall,” Honda shared in a press release, “and hundreds of period photographs of the original car during the 1965 season and specifically as raced in the Mexico GP.”
The real RA272, the car Honda campaigned with for its second season in F1, was, of course, incredibly cool too. Running a 1.5-liter V12 turning out 230 horsepower, it revved to 12,000 rpm and played a key role in cementing Honda as a powerhouse in motorsports.
The 1965 Mexico GP win, with Richie Ginther in the driver’s seat, was the first for a Japanese car, engine, or team in the sport. And at the time, Honda had only been in the car business for a couple of years.
And since this little model is all about details, you might as well enjoy every image Honda has shared of it. Take a scroll:
RA272 1:8-Scale Model
RA272 1:18-Scale Model
The 1:18 version isn’t nearly as intricate, but it’s also much less money. And still pretty neat to examine.
Seen any other toy cars worth $30,000? I want to hear about ’em! Email me at andrew.collins@thedrive.com