Competition
Mazda 787B-002: the 1991 Le Mans 24-hour race winner
Japanese manufacturers have been trying for years to win the most prestigious car race of them all: the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Mazda name first appeared on the scene in 1970, when it supplied an engine to the Belgian Levi's Team. It already consisted of a rotary engine, but unfortunately it only lasted 19 laps.
Mazda persevered and in 1991, the moment finally arrived. With another Belgian influence in the form of consultant Jacky Ickx and Bertrand Gachot behind the wheel, the Mazda 787B-002 Group C became the first Japanese manufacturer and the first (and so far only) car with a rotary engine to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And that in a year when Mercedes, Jaguar, Porsche, Nissan and Toyota spared no expense or effort to achieve victory.
The Mazda 787B-002 completed a flawless 362 laps (4,923 km), with driver Johnny Herbert's food poisoning being the only concern. The roar of the R62B rotary engine with four rotors, delivering 700 hp (or 900 during qualifying), is forever etched in the collective memory of all racing fans.
Motorcycle
HONDA CB750 “FOUR”: the Japanese revolutionary
The “Four” was not the first production motorcycle with four cylinders, that honour goes to the Belgian F.N., but the CB750 made four cylinders the norm. When Honda launched the CB in 1969, all the competition immediately seemed outdated. The CB750 delivered top performance, but above all it was exceptionally well finished, reliable and flawlessly manufactured. With its four cylinders, electric starter and disc brakes, it was also technically innovative.
By 1969, Honda had already built a reputation for excellent smaller motorcycles and dominant racing bikes. With the CB750 Four, Honda could also claim dominance on the road. One selling point was to place a glass of water on a running CB to show customers how little it vibrated, whereas on the European competition, any glass would simply fall off the saddle. The Honda CB750 Four was the motorised Pearl Harbour with which the Japanese motorcycle industry conquered the world.
Historic vehicle
Toyota 2000GT: the first Japanese supercar
In 1965, Toyota introduced the first Japanese supercar at the Tokyo Motor Show: the 2000GT. It was the first time a Japanese manufacturer had been tempted to build a pure sports car.
Yamaha was behind the project after Nissan had rejected the idea of a two-seater sports car, while the design was by Albrecht Graf von Goertz, who had previously penned the BMW 507. The engine came from the Toyota Crown Sedan, a 2-litre six-cylinder, but with twin overhead camshafts, delivering 150 hp.
Only 351 2000GTs were built, including two convertible versions for the Bond film “You Only Live Twice”, making the 2000GT extremely rare, sought-after and expensive.
Kei cars
The microcars that gave the Japanese access to cars
The kei car (literally: light vehicle) was created in 1958 with the launch of the Subaru 360. The kei cars are small cars equipped with small engines designed to keep taxes as low as possible based on specified maximum dimensions. Today, these are set at 3.4 metres by 1.48 metres, with a maximum height of 2 metres and a cylinder capacity of 660cc.
The kei car was to Japan what the Fiat 500 was to Italy or the Volkswagen in Germany: an opportunity for many families to own a car at a time when scooters and motorcycles dominated the streets.
The Kei Car still has a huge share of the Japanese car market, with 1.56 million models sold in 2024.
AUTOMOTIVE FIGURE
Soichiro Honda
According to Soichiro Honda, success is 99% failure. This is something you would not deduce from the incredible success story that began in 1946 with the founding of the Honda Technical Research Institute, which was nothing more than a wooden shed. The beginning is almost cliché, with the production of lights and cheap mopeds based on generator engines from the defeated Japanese army.
Two years later, the Honda Motor Company was born, and in 1949 the first Honda engine was launched: the Dream D-Type. In 1955, Honda became Japan's largest motorcycle manufacturer. The Super Cub motorcycle, produced in 1958, would become the best-selling vehicle on the planet, with more than 100 million models sold. In 1959, Honda exported to the United States for the first time. won the prestigious Isle of Man TT races and its first world title in motorcycle racing in 1961, opened its first overseas production facility in Aalst, Belgium, in 1962, produced its first car and entered Formula 1 in 1964.
In 2023, Honda produced 4.19 million vehicles worldwide and has 88 victories, 6 constructors' titles and 6 drivers' titles to its name in F1. On two wheels, Honda has won more than 800 Grand Prix races and 72 world titles, with another 31 world titles in motocross and countless victories and titles in all possible motor sports classes. Honda’s success has been way better than the 99% failure its founder projected.