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Slide show: Soichiro Honda
21 November 2006
His name might not mean much to most of us, but without Soichiro Honda's vision, there would be no Honda.
Imagine a world without S2000 or NSX sportscars, without hot Fireblade superbikes, and without one of the most iconic images in motorsport - Nigel Mansell giving Ayrton Senna a lift on the side of his Honda-powered Williams Formula 1.
This legend of two and four-wheeled transport would have been 100 last week.
Born on November 17, 1906, Soichiro quickly became obsessed with machines - and what made them work.
Despite receiving no formal qualifications, he started his own car repair business in 1928, and raced in various Japanese series until a serious crash in 1936.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, he formed Honda Motor Co in 1948 building successful motorcycles, but he never forgot his love of motorsport.
"Racing improves the breed", Soichiro once said, and it was through competing in top level two and four-wheeled motorsport he was able to develop his products available for the man in the street.
Speaking after Honda's first Formula 1 win, Soichiro said: "We will not be content with this victory alone. We will study why we won and aggressively apply those winning technologies to new cars."
Soichiro died on August 5 1991, aged 85 - but his company continues to go from strength to strength.
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