Honda 27-01 Apr 2026

Because in 2017, a YouTuber touring a private collection in Chiba, Japan, filmed a brief, 2-second shot of a tarp-covered shape. Under the tarp was a glimpse of a carbon-fiber monocoque and a set of five-lug wheels that match no known Honda production part. The curator muttered a single word before closing the door: “ Nijuunana-ichi .” Twenty-seven-one.

The chassis was reportedly crushed. The V10 engines were detuned, shoved into a drawer, and forgotten. Or so we thought. honda 27-01

But the real death of 27-01 was economic. The early ’90s recession had hit Japan hard. The V10’s tooling would have cost as much as the entire NSX program. And the active suspension? Too heavy, too fragile, too expensive . Honda’s board looked at the wreckage of 27-01 and the projected $800,000 (in 1994 dollars) price tag and killed the project. Because in 2017, a YouTuber touring a private