It’s 1945. Japan lies in ruins in the aftermath of World War II. The population’s starving, the cities are reduced to rubble, and the nation’s defeated. But from the war-torn wreckage, two motor giants are about to rise.

The first is Toyota. It’s the brainchild of Kiichiro Toyoda, the big-dreaming son of a wealthy industrialist who wants to create Japan’s answer to Ford.

But the other contender must travel a harder road. Its founder Soichiro Honda is a poor boy from the sticks and his only resource is his own ingenuity. So he’s starting on two – not four – wheels.

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