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As successful
manufacturer of motorcycles Honda entered the world of motorcar
manufacturing in the year 1962. In the year 1962 Honda presented the S500.
The Honda S500 featured a 531 cc. four cylinder engine, independent
suspension all round and the rear wheels where chain driven. In the year
1964 the Honda S600 was introduced with a 606
cc. engine.
In 1966 the legendary Honda S800 was presented. The car was available as
coupe and cabriolet model. The S800 was a high tech machine regarding
it's mechanical construction, however the use of a separate chassis was
already a little old fashioned those days. The four cylinder engine was
a jewel of mechanical engineering with double overhead camshafts (DOHC)
hemispherical combustion chambers and, crankshaft with roller bearings
and four carburettors. The engine was very powerful and it managed to
squeeze 70 bhp. from only 791 cc. cylinder capacity! The light (740 kg.)
S800 was a little bomb on wheels, fast and agile, a real sports car! The
S800 featured independent front suspension with torsion bars and a live
rear axle. The suspension was very stiff and feels like a the
contemporary Mini Cooper. From 1968 disc brakes on the front wheels and
a dual circuit brake system were fitted to the S800. From 1966 until
1970 11.406 Honda S800 (coupe and cabriolet) cars were built. Not many
survived because of bad maintenance of the high tech mechanics. Top
specimen are hard to find! The Honda clubs worldwide receive very good
support from the Honda factory.
Technical
data
Four cylinder
in-line engine DOHC
cylinder capacity: 791 cc.
capacity: 70 bhp. at 8000 rpm.
top-speed: 160 km/h.
gearbox: 4-speed, manual
weight: 740 kg.
Information
Colour red with a black leather interior and a
black soft top. This Honda S800 was sold new in The
Netherlands. 15 years
ago the car was fully restored and overhauled. The
engine and gearbox were overhauled by the German Honda specialist
Ortmann who used to race these Honda's in those days. The alloy Ronal wheels are correct for this car and they
were bought from Ortmann. |
