Honda S500

Last updated
Honda S500
1963 Honda S500 01.jpg
Overview
Manufacturer Honda
Production19631964
1,363 produced
AssemblyHamamatsu factory, [1] Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Body and chassis
Class Sports car
Kei car
Body style 2-door roadster
Layout Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout
Related Honda T500
Powertrain
Engine 531 cc DOHC I4 [2]
Transmission 4-speed manual [2]
Dimensions
Wheelbase 2,000 mm (78.7 in)
Length3,300 mm (129.9 in)
Width1,430 mm (56.3 in)
Height1,200 mm (47.2 in)
Chronology
Successor Honda S600

The S500 was the second production car from Honda (and its first passenger automobile), released in 1963, following the T360 truck into production by four months. It was a larger-displacement variant of the S360 roadster which, though developed for sale in 1962, was never produced.

Contents

Design

Honda S500 interior at the Honda Collection Hall in Motegi Honda-S500-interior.jpg
Honda S500 interior at the Honda Collection Hall in Motegi

Like the S360, the S500 used a high-tech engine developed from Honda's motorcycle expertise. [3] It was a dual overhead cam straight-4 with four Keihin carburetors and a 9500 rpm redline. [2] Originally intended to displace 492 cc, the production version was 531 cc and produced 44 hp (33 kW) at 8000 rpm. [2] At the time of its introduction, its dimensions and engine displacement were larger than established kei car regulations.

The S500 used a four-speed manual transmission. A four-wheel independent suspension was also novel, with torsion bars at the front and chain-driven, coilover-sprung [2] trailing arms at the rear.

The car was priced at $1,275 in 1963. An optional fiberglass hardtop was also available. 1,363 S500s were produced from October 1963 through September 1964.

The S500 saw competitors during its introduction, such as the Datsun Fairlady, the Toyota Sports 800, and the Daihatsu Compagno.

Related Research Articles

Straight-twin engine Inline piston engine with two cylinders

A straight-twin engine, also known as an inline-twin, vertical-twin, or parallel-twin, is a two-cylinder piston engine whose cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft.

Straight-four engine Inline piston engine with four cylinders

A straight-four engine is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft.

Straight-six engine Internal combustion engine

The straight-six engine is an internal combustion engine, with six cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft.

Mazda Carol Kei car

The Mazda Carol is a kei car manufactured by Mazda from 1962 until 1970. The Carol name was revived again with Mazda's 1989 re-entry into the kei car class with the Autozam brand. Since 1989, the Carol has been a rebadged model manufactured by Suzuki for Mazda, based on the Japanese Suzuki Alto. The first two generations of the modern era Carols received unique bodywork, but since late 1998 the nameplate has been strictly a badging exercise.

The Y-block engine is a family of overhead valve V8 automobile engines produced by Ford Motor Company. The engine is well known and named for its deep skirting, which causes the engine block to resemble a Y. It was introduced in 1954 as a more modern replacement for the outdated side-valved Ford Flathead V8 and was used in a variety of Ford vehicles through 1964.

Chrysler B engine Motor vehicle engine

The Chrysler B and RB engines are a series of big-block V8 gasoline engines introduced in 1958 to replace the Chrysler FirePower engines. The B and RB engines are often referred to as "wedge" engines because they use wedge-shaped combustion chambers; this differentiates them from Chrysler's 426 Hemi big block engines that are typically referred to as "Hemi" or "426 Hemi" due to their hemispherical shaped combustion chambers.

After an early flirtation with V-twin engines, Mazda's small cars of the 1960s were powered by OHV straight-2 and straight-4 engines. This family lasted from 1961 until the mid-1970s. Today, Mazda's keicars use Suzuki engines. It was produced at the Hiroshima Plant in Hiroshima, Japan.

Buick V8 engine Motor vehicle engine

The Buick V8 is a family of V8 engines produced by the Buick division of General Motors between 1953 and 1981. The first version replaced the Buick straight-eight. Displacements vary from 215 cu in (3.5 L) to 455 cu in (7.5 L) for its last big block in 1976. All are naturally aspirated OHV pushrod engines, except for an optional turbocharged version of the short-lived 215 used in the 1962-63 Oldsmobile Jetfire.

Multi-valve Type of car engine

In automotive engineering a multi-valve or multivalve engine is one where each cylinder has more than two valves. A multi-valve engine has better breathing and may be able to operate at higher revolutions per minute (RPM) than a two-valve engine, delivering more power.

BMW New Class Motor vehicle

The BMW New Class was a line of sedans and coupes produced by German automaker BMW between 1962 and 1977. These models ensured BMW's solvency after the company's financial crisis of the 1950s and established the identity of BMW automobiles as sports sedans.

Honda E engine Former Japanese automobile engines

The E-series was a line of inline four-cylinder automobile engines designed and built by Honda for use in their cars in the 1970s and 1980s. These engines were notable for the use of CVCC technology, introduced in the ED1 engine in the 1975 Civic, which met 1970s emissions standards without using a catalytic converter.

Honda J engine Motor vehicle engine

The J-series is Honda's fourth production V6 engine family introduced in 1996, after the C-series, which consisted of three dissimilar versions. The J-series engine was designed in the United States by Honda engineers. It is built at Honda's Anna, Ohio, and Lincoln, Alabama, engine plants.

Lancia Flat-4 engine Motor vehicle engine

The Lancia Flat-4 engine is an aluminum, pushrod flat-four (boxer) engine made by Lancia for the Flavia from 1960 through 1984. Though it was a pushrod engine, it was advanced for the time. The pushrod version of the Lancia boxer was only ever used in the Flavia, and its derivatives including the Lancia 2000. In 1976, a new overhead cam engine based on a similar layout was designed and brought into production in 2 and 2.5-litre displacements for the Gamma.

Honda Z Motor vehicle

The Honda Z is a two-door hatchback kei car/city car manufactured and marketed by the Honda Motor Company, from 1970 until 1974. Exports mostly ended after 1972, when the domestic market models received redesigned pillarless bodywork.

Daihatsu Hijet Motor vehicle

The Daihatsu Hijet is a cab over microvan and kei truck produced and sold by the Japanese automaker Daihatsu since 1960. Despite the similarities between the Hijet name and Toyota's naming scheme for its trucks and vans, the name "Hijet" has been in use for Daihatsu's kei trucks and microvans since 1960, over two decades before Toyota took control. "Hijet", when transliterated into Japanese, is very similar to "Midget", one of Daihatsu's other mini-trucks. According to Daihatsu, the name "Hijet" was created to imply that the vehicle offers higher performance than the Midget. The Hijet competes in Japan with the Honda Acty, Mitsubishi Minicab, Nissan Clipper, Subaru Sambar and Suzuki Carry.

Honda N360 Motor vehicle

The Honda N360 is a small front-engine, front-wheel drive, two-door, four-passenger car manufactured and marketed by Honda from March 1967 through 1970 in Japan's highly regulated kei class — as both a two-door sedan and three-door wagon.

Honda T360 Motor vehicle

The T360 is a pickup truck from Honda. Introduced in June 1963, it was Honda's first production automobile, beating the S500 Sports by four months.

Subaru Sambar Motor vehicle

The Subaru Sambar is a cabover truck and microvan manufactured and marketed by Subaru as Japan's first truck compliant with the country's strict Keitora (軽トラ) or Kei vehicle tax class. Introduced in 1961 in microvan and Kei pickup configurations, the Sambar remains in production, now in its eighth generation — beginning with the sixth generation as a rebadged Daihatsu Hijet.

Honda P engine Small Japanese gasoline engines

The Honda P engine is an inline three-cylinder gasoline engine first designed for use in Honda kei cars. The P engine was first used in the fourth generation Honda Life, as a successor to the Honda E07A engine. The P engine series was initially produced in only one displacement variant: 658 cc, either naturally aspirated or turbocharged. A turbocharged one-litre version, the P10A, has since been developed. The smaller version was discontinued in December 2013, when it was replaced by the new S07 series engine, but the P10A continues to be built in Thailand.

Standard SC engine Motor vehicle engine

The Standard SC engine is a cast-iron overhead valve straight-four engine designed and initially produced by Standard Triumph. Over its production life displacement grew from an initial size of just over 800 cc to nearly 1500 cc. Introduced in the Standard Eight in 1953, it would eventually be used in a wide range of vehicles from Standard, Triumph, and MG.

References

  1. "Honda Global | Launching the S360 and T360 / 1962". Honda. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Buckley, Martin.The Illustrated Book of Classic Cars. Anness Publishing Ltd, 1997, 2003, p. 146. ISBN   1-84215-972-0
  3. "Sporting Hondas – Classic Buyer's Guide". New Zealand Classic Car magazine. Sep 21, 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-11-11.

Notes