Honda S600 Coupe (1965)
Publication: Auto Sport
Format: Auto Sport Road Test
Date: Autumn 1965
Author: Nobuo Koga, Hiroshi Hoshijima
2,000km of Heavy Touring
We passed through the Bandai-Azuma Skyline in the early morning. Although it was early summer, the weather had been unusually cold, and patches of lingering snow could be seen here and there.
The Honda S600’s headlights have a well-established reputation for brightness—and understandably so, as they meet standards specified by the American Highway Patrol…
A “Cute” Fastback
When the Honda S600 won last year’s Nürburgring 500km race, defeating the Marcos in the GT class, almost every car in the field was of the fastback style currently in fashion. Standing all by itself, meanwhile, was the Honda S600 with its hardtop, looking decidedly “cute.” At the same time—although this is not the sort of thing one should say of Honda, which might be considered the most avant-garde carmaker in Japan—it also gave an impression of naivety and a slight lack of sophistication, like a country girl making her first trip to Tokyo.
Thinking about it later, I wondered whether this was because, now that we have come to see the fastback with its slightly upswept tail as the latest style, the hardtop’s shape had begun to suggest the old-fashioned look of a bowler hat.
The Honda Coupe went on sale in April of this year. There was a bit of a gap between its announcement and its release, and it was said that Honda may originally have intended to turn the convertible two-seater into a 2+2, or perhaps a 2+1 three-seater. In fact, with the front seat moved forward slightly, it seems that accommodating one person in the rear would be relatively easy. In Japan, however, Ministry of Transport certification standards are strict, and apparently the rear seat was ultimately not approved.
One can only hope that the officials responsible for certification were not thinking something along the lines of, “Even the Fairlady had to be changed from a three-seater to a two-seater…”
I think the styling has certainly improved. Although the Coupe weighs 10kg more than the convertible, it has less aerodynamic drag, and body rigidity is considerably greater. Apart from its fastback body, it is almost identical to the open-top S600, but it is with the Coupe that Honda’s description of the car as a practical vehicle—even a business car—becomes truly appropriate for the first time.
On an early summer day, we set out from Tokyo on a demanding touring test of approximately 2000km, including more than 15 hours of continuous driving. Nobuo Koga was the driver, with your author (Hoshijima) serving as co-driver.
Departing on a Heavy Touring Test
Our route on the first day was from Tokyo to Fukushima via National Route 4, then onto the Bandai-Azuma Skyline through Aizuwakamatsu, Niigata, Nagaoka, Naoetsu, Nagano, Matsumoto, Shiojiri, and Shimosuwa, where we stopped for the night: 833km. On the second day we covered 454km, from Shimosuwa through Shiojiri, Toki, and Ogaki, then via the Meishin Expressway to Kyoto (for the Mt. Hiei Hill Climb), continuing through Otsu and back onto the Meishin Expressway to Ritto and Kameyama, where we again stopped for the night. On the third day we drove from Kameyama to Suzuka Circuit (for some sporting driving), then returned to Tokyo via National Route 1. Including the driving we did within Tokyo after our return, the total distance covered was 2008.5km.
Although it was early summer, the temperatures were at record-breaking lows, and there was even snow still lying along the Bandai-Azuma Skyline. It was cold enough to make us wish for a heater. We had left Tokyo at midnight, and it rained all the way to Koriyama.
A heater is, of course, available as an option, but our test car was completely standard, without even a windshield washer, heater, or radio. It was only recently that the Bluebird, competing in the Safari Rally, found itself at a considerable weight disadvantage because the homologation model was the Deluxe specification: it therefore had to carry bumper overriders and various other items that would normally be considered optional overseas. The fact that the Honda S600 makes all such equipment optional—even things that might be considered necessities by Japanese standards—is, in many ways, a sound philosophy in its own right. After all, anything not essential to driving can simply be ordered and installed by the individual owner.
Business Car or Sports Car?
In the end, this also shows that the Honda Coupe is not necessarily limited to the role of the “practical car, business car” emphasized as one of its selling points. When the time is right, it has the potential to become a sports car and run wild. Since last year, the Honda S600, despite its mere 606cc capacity, has been cutting down cars with twice its displacement in the Sunday races held at Suzuka Circuit.
With the S600 now homologated as a touring car (two-seaters of 700cc or less can qualify for the touring category as long as more than 1,000 are sold annually), an S600 owner can use his car for business during the week and, on Sundays, compete in races under favorable conditions. The Honda Coupe, too, will probably soon qualify as a touring car. As it turns out, apart from its improved accommodation as a practical car, it has lost none of its character as a sports car.
Practicality Greatly Improved
The convertible is certainly light and nimble, and I can understand the pleasure of being able to drive it with the top open. But the flapping noise made by the top while driving is not particularly pleasant, and although this may be a matter of personal opinion, I am not very fond of the way the framework inside the top gives both driver and passenger a closed-in feeling. Moreover, in Japan’s humid and dusty climate, the top seems to deteriorate rather quickly. There is also the possibility of it being slashed by some particularly nasty prankster.
The Coupe offers the convenience of allowing luggage to be loaded and unloaded without opening the trunk, as well as a generous amount of luggage space (helped by placing the spare tire under the floor and the fuel tank to one side, leaving the trunk floor flat). Fold the passenger-seat backrest forward, moreover, and even fairly long objects can be carried. Rearward visibility has also improved, and ventilation is excellent if the rear quarter windows are snapped outward and the cowl ventilator or side windows are opened. Whether one calls it all-weather capability or simply practicality, there is no question that it has been greatly improved.
Even after many hours in the car, whether as passenger or driver, there is no sense of fatigue, probably because the angle, depth, and firmness of the seats are close to ideal. There were some very poor roads along the Fukushima–Niigata prefectural border and near the coast, but never once was I tossed up out of the seat. For a long tour, however, I think a headrest would be desirable. I only hope one is available as an option.
In Japan, one seldom seems to hear of people touring in sports cars. In Europe, however, I am told that, apart from specialized racing versions, almost all GT cars are generally regarded as suitable for touring. No doubt such a time will eventually come to Japan as well, and it could even be said that one of the roles of the Honda Coupe is to help usher it in.
Loud, but Pleasant in Tone
Interior noise is somewhat high for a touring car (according to measurements by the University of Tokyo’s Watari Laboratory), but is at a normal level for a sports car. Exterior noise, too, is somewhat on the high side even among Japanese sports cars, but its tone is pleasant. This is not to say, of course, that noise can be as loud as one likes so long as it sounds good. Some restraint may be called for in residential areas late at night.
Some people feel that the pedals are positioned a little too far to the right, while others say that for racing use the accelerator pedal is too short at the bottom to permit heel-and-toe operation. The former is a matter of personal preference, and as for the latter, anyone going so far as to enter a race should hardly begrudge the trouble of adding a small extension to the pedal to make it easier to use.
Two Engines in One Honda S600
I do not think anyone would laugh if I wrote that the Honda S600 has two engines. On the one hand, it will run quite comfortably at 2000rpm in top gear (a little over 30km/h), yet once the engine passes about 5000rpm, it is as though an entirely different engine suddenly comes to life. It is almost like a transformation from business car to sports car. Can this really be the work of a single engine of only 606cc? Only when one thinks of Honda’s Formula cars, which compete at the forefront of international racing, does it begin to make sense.
There may be nothing transferred directly from a Formula racing machine. Yet the use of needle roller bearings to reduce friction losses to the absolute minimum to extract greater power from a limited capacity; double overhead camshafts to provide an ideal combustion chamber; and four carburetors—an extravagance by normal standards—for response and the ability to keep pace at high engine speeds: these, I believe, reflect a Honda philosophy derived from its Formula racing machines.
The fact that the same car could be driven over rough roads, taken onto the Meishin Expressway, enjoyed in the Mt. Hiei Hill Climb, and then driven hard at Suzuka clearly demonstrates that its 57ps/8500rpm engine is by no means devoted solely to high-speed performance.
Neither during the Mt. Hiei Hill Climb nor on the Meishin Expressway did the water temperature rise above 80°C. At Suzuka, the car exceeded 150km/h on the straight in front of the grandstand and recorded a lap of just over 3 minutes 23 seconds. The tires were Dunlop Dun-Safes, the air cleaners were left in place, and the only changes made were to replace the NGK D8E plugs with No. 9s and raise the tire pressures from 1.4 to 1.7kg/cm² front and rear.
Fuel Consumption: 15km/l
There were absolutely no problems with the brakes. The S600 uses Alfin drums, which have an established reputation for resisting fade. However, in a race held recently at Funabashi Circuit, braking effectiveness did apparently begin to fall off during the latter half. On that course, though, the brakes are used so frequently that no matter what car you bring, it is certain to be too much for the standard specification.
Fuel consumption, excluding the running at Suzuka Circuit, was 14.6km/l. On the return journey along the Tokaido, it was 15.5km/l.
The only troubles encountered while driving were a fuel gauge that occasionally became temperamental, a hood lock that once popped open, a turn-signal lever that failed to return properly several times, and a handbrake warning light that refused to go out. More bothersome than any of these, however, was the car’s tendency to splash mud onto its own windshield when driving through puddles. The wipers are powerful enough that this presents no real problem, but it is still a weakness.
Cornering and Acceleration Tests
After returning to Tokyo, we conducted cornering tests at the Murayama test course (with the Kondo Laboratory of the Tokyo Institute of Technology) and standing-start acceleration tests (with the Hirao Laboratory of the University of Tokyo). The recorded 0-400m time was 18.7 seconds, while the results of the cornering tests showed a fairly pronounced tendency toward understeer right up to the limit.
Comparing the standing-start acceleration figures with those of the Toyota Sports 800, the results are somewhat disappointing. Of course, there is a difference in engine capacity, and perhaps this is asking too much of Honda’s 57ps/8500rpm engine. Even so, the Honda Coupe’s weight of 730kg must be considered a little on the heavy side.
For Honda, with its experience in developing Formula racing machines, reducing the weight would surely present no great difficulty. But as long as one of the Coupe’s selling points is that it is a business car guaranteed for two years or 50,000km, perhaps this is unavoidable. After all, for a sports car, it is almost unbelievably practical, while also being easy to drive and comfortable.