Click above for high-res gallery of Honda's 1967 RA300 and new RA108

Honda has a long history in grand prix racing. The sport's first Japanese team debuted with its own home-grown chassis and engine in 1964, taking its first victory in only its second year in Formula One at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix. The original RA271 was replaced by the RA300 at the 1967 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, which John Surtees won on its maiden race. Honda withdrew from Formula One in 1969, supplied engines to various teams between 1983 and 1992 and again with British American Racing in 2000, which Honda had adopted as its own factory team by 2005 before winning the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Keen to highlight its rich heritage in Formula One, Honda came to the Geneva Motor Show with and old RA300 and its latest successor, the RA108. Compared to the 3-liter 420-hp V12 and 5-speed manual in the vintage RA300, the new RA108 is driven through a seven-speed sequential gearbox by a 2.4-liter V8 producing over 700 hp. The two cars represent over 45 years of F1 development, clearly evident in their forms that you can see for yourself in our high-resolution gallery by click-clickin' on the thumbnails below.

Gallery: Honda F1 RA300 and RA108

Geneva 2008: Honda F1 RA300 and RA108 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 08:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.