It was the first Japanese car to win in Formula One, achieving victory at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix after leading every lap with driver Richie Ginther.

[3] As it was announced that the 1965 season would be the last for the 1.5-litre engines and new 3.0-litre regulations would come into effect in 1966, Honda decided to improve the previous year's RA271 model rather than develop a completely new car.

[1] The "RA" in the name stands for Racing Automobile, "270" is said to come from an ultimate power target of 270 hp or a top speed of around 270 km/h, and the final digit "2" denotes that it is the company's second Formula One car.

[6] For their second season in 1965, Honda signed Richie Ginther to drive alongside fellow American Ronnie Bucknum.

In contrast to the inexperienced Bucknum,[9] Ginther had scored multiple podium finishes and gained a reputation for being a great test and development driver.

[3] At the following British Grand Prix, Ginther qualified a strong third, just 0.5 seconds off pole position, but in the race he spun the car before injection issues caused a retirement.

[2] The RA272 ran without issues, and Ginther ultimately led all 65 laps to beat second-placed Gurney to the Grand Prix win.

[15] After the race, team manager Yoshio Nakamura sent the message "Veni, vidi, vici" to the Honda headquarters in Tokyo.

[19] Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti drove the RA272 in 2011, after which he remarked that it "probably has the best sound of any car I've driven or heard, and that's saying a lot.

[20] Two years earlier, the team's driver Max Verstappen tested the RA272 during the week of the Japanese Grand Prix, the first time he had driven a racing car made before 2008.