Greetings from cold cold Japan! We’re here to bring you coverage of the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, which will open for the press the day after tomorrow. But before we see the typically wacky Tokyo concepts that could be the cars of the future, we paid a visit to Honda Collection Hall at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit for a look at the good old days.
Twin Ring Motegi should be no strange track to Gran Turismo fans, and the Honda owned circuit in Tochigi prefecture houses two “rings” – an American style oval and a road course – hence the name.
Surrounded by natural forests, Motegi has other interesting stuff for auto fans as well, including a Gran Turismo cafe and Honda Collection Hall. The latter is a must visit for all, and Honda fans in particular should pay a “pilgrimage” in their lifetime!
The left side of the three-floor building is dedicated to bikes, while the right is for cars. The ground floor houses a gift shop (tempting but expensive!) and what looks like a “library”, plus a section for Honda’s clever Asimo robot and its ancestors. First floor is for landmark production cars and bikes (no time for the latter, unfortunately) and the second floor is for Honda’s famous racing machines.
For the road cars, the more famous classics such as the N360 minicar from 1967, S600 Coupe and topless S800 mix with commercial vehicles and the P800 pick up truck (yes, Honda used to make those things!). Moving on, there’s a cute first gen Civic RS in the corner. The tiny 705 kg car had 76 PS and metal studded seats. Also, did you know that RS stands for Road Sailing?
One can also see the classy first Prelude and the original CR-X here, all in beautiful mint condition. Curiously, the prettier second gen CR-X was nowhere to be seen. The loop ends with two famous midship cars on opposite ends of the scale – the big NSX-R and little Beat.
Going up, Honda shows off the race cars that it powered to victories, like the RA300 of Surtees. F1 fans will have plenty of “wah, check that out” moments with the old racers – they used to have mega wings and octopus exhausts! Moving on, famous Honda powered F1 cars include the John Player Special car, the “Canon” Williams Honda of Nelson Piquet, the “Camel” Lotus 99T of Satoru Nakajima and Aryton Senna’s iconic McLaren Honda MP4/7.
Not much time left, but I had to jump over to the bike side just to see the Rothmans Honda 500cc bikes of Gardner, Okada and of course, Mick Doohan! Max Biaggi’s 250cc No.1 Marlboro bike was there, too.
Here are the souvenirs from Motegi, enjoy!
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
We should have one gallery too to whet the appetite of Honda enthusiasts in M’sia!
Honda FTW!
RS stands for Road Sailing.
Now I know.. Have been figuring what does it really stands for during the past few years.
Honda… bring back the cute and sporty BEAT ! =p
I m surprised u didn’t discover Google search in your ‘past few years’ lol…
hehe.. there’re many definitions of RS in google. how sure are you which one is right ? At least now I am certain =)
You can see how confused are these ppl :
http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=419412
http://www.civicforums.com/forums/2-parts-products/138829-what-does-rs-grill-stand.html
http://www.fitfreak.net/forums/general-fit-talk/29008-what-does-rs-stand.html
Yeah!!!!!
Honda Fanboi sure gets cargasm!
Oh wait, motorcycle: cyclegasm?
N wat? Asimo: Robogasm…???
Never mind, have orgasm……
danny tan, u are so fortunate to go to the honda museum. i have and still restoring a honda s600 coupe until today. fascinating little car, if u ever get to sit in it (as i had in my friend’s car in germany)
how much does it cost to go to motegi from tokyo, i would definitely love to visit the museum
One can take the train from Tokyo to Utsonomiya, the biggest town in the area. From here, there are buses to Motegi
Nice collection! when will we have ours?
I love Honda :)…..!!!
I am a diehard Honda owner of two Honda cars. I love Honda. Honda The Power Of Dreams.
Me too man I think I will only buy Honda if I need cars later LOL :].
where is my Honda 50cc and 70cc? happy to donate mine.
Does it have Honda city?
You mean the 1st generation Honda City two door hatchback? That’s my Honda City’s father. Nice cute car.
Honda also have a pick up truck nowadays called a Ridgeline
teringat zaman lalu..:)
As an owner or several Hondas (2 kapcais and 2 cars). Indeed I have a little sense of pride. From a humble beginning as a small Toyota contractor (they used to make engine parts for Toyota) to where they are now.
This is a place I can only dream to see for now. Yes, I’m a Honda fanboy and I’m proud of it. :)
this place must be enormous in order to house every single model they made
I love the CR-X and NSR500 best.
Do you have a Honda?
1 star or no star NCAP rating old junk on the show!
hey danny,
I AM GLAD YOU DIDNT MISS THE NSX IN YOUR PICS!!!
How can we miss out “Kap Chai” in the long list.
Loved the ride, and it’s still a functioning motorbike from my Dad’s 1982 Honda C70.
This place is a Heaven for me!!!!
Hahaha…best photo album. Damn! it must be good to get inside that almost brand new first gen Honda Prelude. Hm…and those classic vans and pick-ups, they look just like toys, well done people, well done.
I loved this museum so much after my very first visit in 1999 that i went there subsequently 3 times after that during my business trips to Japan those days,a sublime collection of Honda’s great automobiles and motorcycles produced since their inception as a manufacturer.
And their racing cars and bikes,wow! Simply awesome.I also visted the Mugen headquarters once under a special arrangement made by a close friend of mine who is still in Japan.I met the guys running the show over there.Very impressive to say the least.
If any of you car or bike lovers have the chance to visit Japan be it for business or leisure,this place is a must see.You will be definately impressed.
Cheers.
Sayang takde gambar motor Mondial Super Sportiva,The mother of all Honda’s racing
bikes.Soichiro used that bike for starting reference point before designing his own
competition race bike.The first bike on display while entering Honda’s Motegi Collection
Hall kalau tak silap aku la ;)
Sayang takde gambar motor Mondial Super Sportiva,The mother of all Honda’s racing
bikes.Soichiro used that bike for starting reference point before designing his own
competition race bike.The first bike on display while entering Honda’s Motegi Collection
Hall kalau tak silap aku la ;)