If you’d been anywhere near Silverstone on 19–20 October, you’d have been forgiven for thinking that the building sense of anticipation and excitement meant that, at the very least, an impromptu Grand Prix was being held. In fact, it was Honda – celebrating 50 years of trading in the UK. It’s a name known all over the world – now officially the 19th most recognized global brand – so much so that in Asia, the generic name for a bike is ‘Honda’. But its place in British society remains close to our hearts. And British industry!
A line-up of heritage models, including Ayrton Senna’s factory NSX
The motorcycles division has a staggering 65 models in the range, with 40 launched in the past four years alone, and engines ranging from 50cc to 1,800cc. Honda has 700 MotoGP wins to date and holds Isle of Man lap records in all five categories.
And of course it’s not just bikes. Honda launched its first car back in 1962, not that long after its bike empire was up and running. Then it entered Formula 1, and won its first Grand Prix the following year, 1965, which was also the year it started trading in Britain.
Honda launched the Civic hatchback in 1972, and there it might have rested. But its involvement in power products was ramping up, with resulting huge successes in lawn mowers and marine engines. There are now a staggering 225 models in the range.
It’s not every day that Silverstone hosts a lawn-mower obstacle course
It is an astonishing combination of engineering, imagination and emotion on a grand corporate scale. In keeping with Honda’s benevolent ambition, its R&D spend on ‘products we don’t sell’, according to Philip Crossman, Honda’s MD, is enormous. There’s 30 years of robotics development, for a start, which involves ‘designing products for society’. The UNI-CUB is close to commercialisation and could act as a mobility aid for people with various disabilities. Then there’s the HondaJet, a truly innovative piece of aeronautical engineering involving moving the engines up high above the wings, which is undergoing final approval ahead of first deliveries.
And we still have the joy of the NSX going on sale in Britain next summer. Such is the passion this badge arouses that every NSX that will be made is already accounted for.
Gordon Sneddon, BTCC champion, shows a passenger the extent of the Civic Type R performance envelope
It’s a truly staggering heritage. But the most impressive part is that the company ploughs its legacy continuously back into future developments. Philip Crossman says, ‘Our business has changed radically since it launched in the swinging sixties, adapting and evolving to suit the demands of riders and drivers over the years. I can well imagine that Honda will be a completely different organisation in 2065 – but still selling quality and trusted cars, bikes and power products.’
After such an eventful 50 years for Honda UK, one can only wonder what the next half century will bring…
