These are sublime cars if you can fit behind the wheel—and if you don’t mind looking at the lug nuts of other vehicles
Of the three major Japanese manufacturers—Nissan and Toyota being the others—Honda, with its motorcycle heritage and Formula One aspirations, was clearly the most sporting minded and the most innovative. After watching Nissan achieve success with its line of thoroughly conventional Fairlady roadsters, Honda decided it could do something far more interesting.
The result was the S500 of 1963, Honda’s first production car. For those used to the MG Midgets and Austin-Healey Sprites of the day, the specs were positively otherworldly. The S500 was powered by a 531-cc, double overhead cam engine with four carburetors and a roller bearing crankshaft. It had a redline of 9,500 rpm and made its peak power of 44 horsepower at 8,000 rpm. The chain drive and independent rear suspension were even more exotic. Dry weight was just 1,500 pounds.
Calling the car Lilliputian implies a lack of familiarity with Jonathan Swift’s work. It’s positively microscopic, small even for the average 5’ 5” Japanese man. The design is quite lovely, with nice details and is relatively gimmick-free for a 1960s Japanese car. The earlier variations of the grille and lights are probably the most pleasing, but in coupe or roadster form, it’s a nice design.
The interior carries the jewel-like aspects of the design forward with a lovely wood-rimmed steering wheel that makes a Jaguar E-type wheel seem robust and a full complement of black-rimmed gauges. Seats are comfortable and well-bolstered, but really, where are you going to go in a cockpit this snug?
An almost immediate displacement increase resulted in the S600 of 1964. The boost to a 606-cc engine meant an increase to 57 horsepower. The little Honda was now capable of giving a hard time to normally tuned Porsche 356s and Alfa Romeo Giuliettas in both a straight line and in corners. But Honda wasn’t finished yet.
The last iteration of the original S cars came in 1966 with the 791-cc engine—and the optimistically named S800. Power was now an astonishing 70 horsepower, and although similar in size to an MG Midget, the S800 was now capable of performance on the level of an MGB while still making 30 mpg. Early S800s continued to use the chain drive and independent rear end of the S600, while later cars reverted to a live axle. Disc brakes became standard.
Although the later models added U.S. safety equipment, lighting and a left-hand-drive version, they could never get the high-revving, micro-displacement engine to pass U.S. smog regulations. This is an absurd situation, especially when one considers the amount of hydrocarbons that the 35-plus mpg little Honda could spew in comparison to the 9 mpg Detroit barges of the day.
On the road, the S800 is a sublime car—if you can fit behind the wheel—and if you can get used to looking at the lug nuts of most of the other vehicles on the road. Steering is light and direct, and the car is incredibly easy to place in a corner. Even on 145 section tires, the grip seems limitless. While the S800 is the “big block” and the torquiest of the bunch, there’s still precious little of the stuff to be found, especially below 5,500 rpm. From about six grand until the redline, it’s a blast with distinctly motorcycle-like sounds from the exhaust. You can hit 100 mph in the S800—if you dare.
None of the S cars were officially imported into the U.S. Road & Track was so anxious to get their hands on one in 1965 that they relaxed their usual prohibition against testing privately owned cars and used a right-hand-drive car privately imported by a U.S. serviceman stationed in Japan. They were favorably impressed, and the magazine commented on the car’s sophistication and technical innovation in comparison to the small British sports cars of the day.
Today, the S cars remain relatively unknown in the U.S. because they’re so scarce here, particularly in left- hand-drive form. This isn’t to say there’s no demand among the initiated. They’re much sought after in racing form because they’re capable of giving a hard time to the usual Abarths, Turners and Sprites that inhabit the Under 1 Liter classes in vintage racing. As street cars, they’re an absolute blast to drive.
Sadly, parts are now problematic, especially for earlier cars. Patron saints like Norman Hart in Cupertino, CA are a big help. What’s available isn’t particularly pricey, but buying a car with significant needs is foolish, particularly when the best cars don’t top $30,000.
That said, a 1966 Honda S600—fitted with a S800 engine—sold at the October 2010 H&H Sparkford, U.K., sale for a shocking $63,915. The car had just 2,982 miles on the clock, and the owner was Formula One World Champion driver Jenson Button, which are factors that helped boost the sale price. Even so, this price was definitely out of the ordinary.
The problem for most of these cars is the same shared by other interesting early Japanese cars. While there is a movement afoot in California that touts vintage Japanese cars as the Next Big Thing, the market as a whole seems to have a difficult time accepting anything beyond the Toyota 2000 GT as truly collectible, which makes Honda’s tiny S cars relative bargains. http://www.sportscarmarket.com/colu...76-the-tiny-high-revving-honda-s500-s600-s800
