{"id":127777,"date":"2026-03-18T23:25:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T02:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotive.einnews.com\/article\/900335094"},"modified":"2026-03-18T23:25:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T02:25:18","slug":"honda-once-built-a-sports-car-that-history-forgot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/18\/honda-once-built-a-sports-car-that-history-forgot\/","title":{"rendered":"Honda Once Built A Sports Car That History Forgot"},"content":{"rendered":"

These days, Honda<\/a><\/span> feels permanent in the car world \u2013 Civics fill streets, Accords carry families for decades, and the NSX and S2000 light up enthusiast conversations. That success makes the beginning look neat and obvious \u2013 but it was not. When Honda stepped into cars in 1963, it did not start with a safe sedan or a cheap commuter. It started with a tiny open-top machine that looked friendly, sounded furious, and carried a huge job. That sports car had to prove that a motorcycle company could build a real automobile and do it with its own ideas, not by copying the usual script. <\/p>\n

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That first sports car<\/a> mattered far more than its sales total suggests. It arrived in a rush, packed strange engineering, and disappeared almost as fast as it came. Later Hondas from the same family sold better, reached more markets, and took most of the glory, so this effort slipped out of memory. That is a shame, because the car tells a bigger story about risk, ambition, and the odd little experiment that launched Honda\u2019s automotive identity.<\/p>\n

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The First Japanese Sports Car To Terrify Porsche And Ferrari <\/a> <\/h5>\n

When this mid-engined Japanese sports car dropped, it sent European sports car brands straight back to the drawing board.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Before Becoming A Car Company, Honda Needed A Statement <\/h2>\n
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Honda T360 pickup front fascia<\/figcaption>Honda<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Before Honda<\/a><\/span> built cars, it built its name on motorcycles, speed, and stubborn confidence. Even then, Soichiro Honda did not want to rush into four wheels without proper research, testing, and production readiness. That caution did not last, though. Japan\u2019s Ministry of International Trade and Industry moved toward a bill that could lock new companies out of the auto business, so Honda suddenly had a reason to move fast. The company no longer had the luxury of waiting for a perfect first car. It needed something now, and it needed that something to hit like a starter pistol. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly why Honda\u2019s first big automotive statement<\/a> was not a sensible family car. A halo model<\/a> could grab attention, flex engineering talent, and make dealers believe the company meant business. It could also separate the firm from rivals that already owned the practical side of the market.<\/p>\n

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The company showed that intent in 1962 when it rolled out the Sports 360, the larger Sports 500, and the T360 truck at the 9th Japan National Auto Show. The truck gave Honda an entry point, the sports car gave Honda a face, and the larger version existed because the company saw only limited domestic demand for a tiny sports car and wanted something that could work around the world. From day one, Honda envisioned its automotive efforts as a global journey.<\/p>\n

Even the color told a story. Soichiro Honda wanted a vivid red, but Japanese regulations at the time banned red and white body colors because officials thought they could confuse those cars with emergency vehicles. Honda fought the rule, pushed the argument in public, and won approval. That sounds small, but it says a lot about the company\u2019s mood \u2013 it wanted its first sports car to shout, not clear its throat.<\/p>\n

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The S500 Was Honda’s First Production Sports Car <\/h2>\n
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Honda S500 front 3\/4 view<\/figcaption>Toyota Automobile Museum<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The car was the Honda S500, and it hit the market in October 1963, two months after the T360 truck. That made it Honda\u2019s first production sports car and its first passenger car<\/a>. The moment people realized Honda was already building cars was this \u2013 and the company achieved that with a sports car. What better way to tell the world you are now building four-wheeled machines?<\/p>\n

On paper, the S500 looked almost absurd. It used a 531cc inline-four with dual overhead cams and made about 44 horsepower, which sounds modest until the rest of the sentence arrives. That power came high in the rev range, and the whole car weighed very little. Honda wanted a quick response, a specific sound, and mechanical intensity. The S500 looked like a roadster, but it thought like a racing bike that had somehow found four wheels and legal papers.<\/p>\n

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That approach shaped the S500\u2019s place in Honda history \u2013 both the S500 and S600 were cars that influenced how the company thought about sports cars long after the originals disappeared. The car set the tone early \u2013 front engine, rear drive, two seats, low weight, and a strong link between driver and machine. Later Honda icons would express that idea with more polish and much more power, but the original sketch already sat on the page in 1963.<\/p>\n

A Motorcycle In A Sports-Car Body <\/h3>\n
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Honda S500 back end<\/figcaption>Toyota Automobile Museum<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Engine<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Power<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Torque<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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0-60 MPH<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Top Speed<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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531cc DOHC inline-four<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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44 hp<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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33.2 lb\/ft<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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~17-18 sec<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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~81-86 mph<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

We\u2019ve heard the \u201cmotorcycle in a sports-car body\u201d line used for many cars, but with the S500, it actually fits. Honda engineers stuffed advanced bike thinking into a roadster \u2013 the little four-cylinder needed to spin to make its power, and the automaker later used S500-based specs while developing an automatic transmission, including a target engine speed of 8,000 rpm. In 1963, that was wild territory for a production car.<\/p>\n

Then came the really weird bit \u2013 chain drive to the rear wheels. The setup came from packaging needs first \u2013 the earlier Sports 360 had to fit within strict mini-vehicle dimensions, and the chain layout created space between the rear tires for the spare wheel. That clever packaging also helped gather mass closer to the center of the car, which improved dynamic behavior. In plain English, Honda used a chain drive because the engineers found a smart answer and liked how smart answers drove.<\/p>\n

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The S500 also worked as a rolling laboratory. Honda later noted that the car adopted the industry\u2019s first anionic electrodeposition undercoating material, a water-based process charged with negative current. That\u2019s nerdy in the best possible way, because Honda treated its first proper car as a test bed for ideas in design, manufacturing, and materials. That habit never really left the company \u2013 one reason enthusiasts still like Honda.<\/p>\n

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