The smile we had when talking about the Honda S660 is starting to turn into a massive one that’s covering our entire faces, since the rumor mill points at the key roadster going international.
This type of diminutive roadster will apparently bring an entry-level point to Honda’s recently-refreshed go-fast line-up, which includes the Civic Type R and the NSX. In Japan, the S660 is part of the key car culture, which means it is motivated by a turbocharged 660cc engine that delivers 63 hp to the rear wheels.
Before anybody puts the “underpowered” tag on the S660, you should know the export version is rumored to get a heart transplant. A 1.0-liter turbocharged mill is expected, with this set to deliver up to 130 hp.
Of course, almost doubling the power means the chassis will also have to be upgraded, with the same being true for the brakes. While these changes won’t be all that visible from the distance, they will change the character of the car altogether.
The move is also expected to see the car rebranded as the S1000, so the already-old mini-NSX joke can now be accompanied by “half-an-S2000” mention.
While in Japan the S660 plays in the sports key car league where it battles the Daihatsu Kopen, its global appeal doesn’t seem all that broad. First of all, even with the expected upgrades, this Honda will be slotted under cars like the Mazda Miata, so we don’t see too much potential for it in the US.
As for Europe, the most recent effort of this kind was the Renault Wind, which is now off the table due to (you guessed it) poor sales. Still, Honda’s engineers have put a lot of work into the S660, so this should attract the geek community.
Speaking of the S660’s character, we’ve brought along a review of the little thing. This comes from the Japanese media and the English subtitles don’t exactly help us, but there are certain things we can learn from it.
First of all, the S660 looks very stable, with the corners of the Sodegaura Forest Raceway appearing to be a delight for the diminutive machine. The engine comes alive at high rpm and seems to be doing a decent job with the 830 kg (lbs) of the car. And it sound surprisingly good in the process. We're not sure about that manual roof through...
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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