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Hailwood Honda for auction
1966 350
championship-winning machine
2 September 2026, by Guy 'Guido' Allen
Light and jewel-like,
the Honda RC173 which took Mike Hailwood to victory in
the 1966 350 road racing Grand Prix championship is up
for sale. It's the bike he used to defeat Giacomo
Agostini, while running campaigns in 250, 350 and 500
classes. Times have changed...
The inline-four engine
of course ran four valves per cylinder and
double-overhead camshafts. It is thought to have
produced 62-ish horsepower (46kW or the same as an
early street CB750-Four) at around 13,500rpm. That was
matched to a six-speed transmission. Redline was close
to 15,000 – unbelievable numbers for the day.
Weight was about 90kg (200lb) and top speed was a heady 250km/h (155mph).
Hailwood and family held
on to the bike for some years. It was eventually sold
and during the period since it was sent to the Honda
Collection Hall in Motegi, Japan, ostensibly for
display.
See our Honda
Collection Hall tour preview.
Honda took the
opportunity to restore it and then send it back the
owner.
It's now on the market
with Iconic Auctioneers in the UK, carrying an
estimate of Au$1.4-1.8m (US$1.0-1.2m, GB£750-950,000,
€875-990,000).
Hailwood and his exploits, including his stunning return to top-flight racing in 1978, ignited a whole series for Ducati. See Ian Falloon's story on the MHR Mille.
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