Hot Wheels ‘Honda Racer’ Turns Up the Heat in a 1/64th Scale Model

June 8, 2008

04/22/2008 - TORRANCE, Calif. -Honda is announcing the arrival of the Honda Racer™, a much-anticipated 1/64th scale Hot Wheels® car designed by Honda R&D Americas, Inc., in Torrance. The Honda model, along with designs from five additional automakers, were selected as part of the Hot WheelsDesigner’s Challenge™ as a way to celebrate the die-cast brand’s 40th anniversary. The Honda Racer arrives on store shelves in May 2008.

“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 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 paint scheme is further inspired by Honda’s early participation in Formula 1 racing and its 1967 RA 273™ racecar. The white and red paint scheme, the open cockpits, large exhaust system and open wheels are all elements inspired by the historic Honda racecar.

A powerful Honda V-10 VTEC® engine sits between the piloting team. If brought up to scale, the engine would displace an amazing 2.0 liters per cylinder. A set of velocity stacks and an intake that receives air through the body of the car sits between red DOHC valve covers to provide a technologically-advanced look. The exhaust system is a giant set of twisted, yet balanced tubes that reside high above the engine, complementing the power plant design at the back end of the car. The dynamic expression of technology, history and detail is evident throughout the design of the car.

“Sure, it is awesome to play with the cars on the orange track again, but I discovered that designing a Hot Wheels car is very different and in some ways more liberating than designing a production car,” says Gonzalez, a native of East Los Angeles who considers automotive design to be his dream job. “For example, the primary design constraint is that the car had to fit on the orange track and perform a loop. Aside from that, the possibilities are without limit.”

Mattel invited auto manufacturers to participate in the Hot Wheels Designer’s Challenge as part of the die-cast brand’s 40th anniversary celebration. 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.

Starting in mid-August, the Honda Racer 1/5th scale model and other cars from the Designer’s Challenge will be part of the Hot Wheels 40th anniversary road trip traveling along historic U.S. Route 40, stopping at multiple cities along the way. The tour starts at the Mattel headquarters in El Segundo, California, in August and ends at Watkins Glen, New York, in early September. See www.hotwheels.com/40th for more information.

Honda Racer Technical Specifications
Layout: Mid engine/ rear wheel drive
Seating Capacity: 2
Length x Width x Height (cm): 7.0 x 3.0 x 2.2
Curb Weight: 40 grams
Body/ Frame: Real die-cast metal, plastic
Fuel: Gravity and a child’s imagination
Engine: Die-cast Honda V-10 (theoretical)
Valvetrain: DOHC VTEC, four valves per cylinder (theoretical)
Displacement: 20 liters/1220 cubic inches (theoretical)
Suspension: Solid front and rear axles
Tires: Low-friction hard plastic

About the Hot Wheels® Brand
Hot Wheels® cars revolutionized boys’ toys in 1968 with an original line of super-fast, customized cars built for speed, power, performance and attitude. Now, 40 years later, Hot Wheels® is a global lifestyle brand that represents the coolest cars imaginable in scales from miniature to full-size. Hot Wheels® cars are also popular collectibles for adults and each year, introduces a new line-up of innovative vehicles, track sets and playsets.

About Mattel
Mattel, Inc., (NYSE: MAT, www.mattel.com) is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products. The Mattel family is comprised of such best-selling brands as Barbie®, the most popular fashion doll ever introduced, Hot Wheels®, Matchbox®, American Girl®, Radica® and Tyco® R/C, as well as Fisher-Price® brands, including Little People®, Power Wheels® and a wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines. Mattel is recognized as one of 2008’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” by FORTUNE Magazine and among the 100 Most Trustworthy U.S. Companies by Forbes Magazine. Committed to ethical manufacturing sustainable business practices, Mattel marked a 10-year milestone in 2007 for its Global Manufacturing Principles. With worldwide headquarters in El Segundo, Calif., Mattel employs more than 30,000 people in 43 countries and territories and sells products in more than 150 nations. Mattel’s vision is to be the world’s premier toy brands — today and tomorrow.

About Honda
Honda is one of the world’s leading producers of mobility products including its diverse line-up of automobiles; motorcycles and ATVs; power products; marine engines; personal watercraft; jet engines; and, aircraft. Founded in Japan in 1948, Honda began operations in the U.S. in 1959 with the establishment of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Honda’s first overseas subsidiary.

Written by Mr. Onil · Filed Under 2008, Concepts, Fun Stuff, Honda & Acura News, News | Leave a Comment

Honda launches skydiving ad campaign - Sponsored Video

May 21, 2008

Dead air: What happens in someone opens their chute underneath you. Your canopy can collapse. The cameramen have to be very careful when filming below the divers that they clear the formation before pulling their chute as they can cause all manner of problems. Like their job was not complicated enough to begin with.

Want to see more Action? Go to –> www.difficultisworthdoing.typepad.com

Free Diving: A style of skydiving where you create a sequence of formations in free-fall. More balletic than the ground rush stuff.

Dust Devils: Mini tornados that whip up in the desert. The vortex they create plays havoc with the skydivers coming in to land. They have a tendency to cause your parachute to collapse. Not so fun when you are travelling at up to 70 miles an hour towards the hard desert ground.

Another star of the production arrives on set

Another key part of this commercial is the new Honda Accord. The only member of the cast to have their own Winnebago.

Getting ready for it’s close up.

To film the Accord on dirt roads in the desert requires some specialised kit. In order to track the car as it drives through the brush, a camera is mounted to the robotic arm on the pursuit vehicle. The cameraman is able to control all elements from inside the car using a joy stick and monitor. This sophisticated technology allows us to get up close to the Accord at speed but maintaining a relatively stable camera shot.

Written by Mr. Onil · Filed Under 2008, Fun Stuff, Honda & Acura News | Leave a Comment

Do you have crazy fun with your Honda? Share the pics here…

January 14, 2008

Hey,

If you like having fun with your car or with things relating to it. (ie. you girlfriend, or the boyfriend of the ladies) then share some fun filled photos with us of those times.

Also, if you got “Animations” that you think are fun & have to do with Hondas, Acuras or rides in general, please share those too in this “Fun Stuff” section.

Share them here –> http://morephotos.hondaspace.com/showgallery.php?cat=524

Big thanks!

Mr. Onil.
Admin.
Got a support Question? E-mail support@hondaspace.com

Written by Mr. Onil · Filed Under Fun Stuff | Leave a Comment

Honda Rocks, even in Mario Land! (See why…)

January 13, 2008

Thanks to http://www.hondaspace.com/Xslickwhitetegx for the Mario and Honda Animation, founded it his profile!

I think this animation is really well done. The person who made it must LOVE Hondas and is an old school fan of Super Mario, one of the most Popular games ever!

Congrats to the maker who is unanimous. Thanks for the fine work mate!

Written by Mr. Onil · Filed Under Fun Stuff | 1 Comment