A Honda F1 RA107 with two Hayabusa hearts

Only a few fortunate people with enough money in the world can buy a Formula 1 car. Generally, teams sell cars from previous seasons to select individuals, or these end up becoming part of the team’s private collection. In the case of this Honda ex-F1, the buyer plans to fit a pair of Hayabusa engines.

But there is a reason behind such an unusual combination of powertrain and chassis. Honda sold the chassis of this single-seater, which Rubens Barrichello used in 2007 (a car that did not score a single point in the championship), to a certain F1 Snake. The car was being used as the basis for a simulator, so all that Honda handed over was the chassis, without engine or steering. The agreed price was £37,000. Cheap compared to everything Honda invested in Formula 1.

As Honda does not sell racing engines, let alone from its former Formula 1 cars, F1 Snake turned to a solution suited to someone with plenty of money: buying a 2.8-litre V8 engine to adapt it to the single-seater. The engine is a V-block made up of two Suzuki Hayabusa engines joined together, which can produce around 500 horsepower.

The next step was adapting the transmission, since there was obviously no compatibility between the Hayabusa and the Formula 1 gearbox. Once again, money was no obstacle, and F1 Snake completely dismantled the gearbox and had Hewland make the necessary modifications.

The car will be used in track days, demonstrations and races in Great Britain, possibly historic Formula 1 events. F1 Snake only has experience driving single-seaters with Formula Ford cars, and says he will have to start from scratch and gradually master the Honda, which competed in the Formula 1 Grand Circus and now rests in some English garage, with a Dodge Viper as a companion, waiting to come back to life once more.