Honda S360

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Honda Sports 360 prototype at the Honda Sports 50th Anniversary in Motegi / Japan 2013

The pre-production model S360 (type code AS250) from 1962 was the first Honda - Automotive . The S stood for Sports Car and the number for the cubic capacity in cm³. This convertible was the forerunner of the Sports series Honda S500 / Honda S600 / Honda S800 . It was presented to the public on October 25, 1962 at the 9th Tokyo Motor Show next to the T360 (T stands for mini truck, type code AK250) and the S500 (type code AS280).

Development and introduction

In 1955, the MITI (Ministry of International Trade and Industry) proposed building a four-seater “People's Car” in Japan with a top speed of 100 km / h at a price of 150,000 yen. Even Honda had been suggested by about building cars thinking. Car development at Honda began in 1958 with a small group of 50 new employees who formed the first automotive development department. Yoshio Nakamura , who later became Formula 1 team manager, was the project manager for the Honda Sports series. Motoo Nakajima was in charge of the body, steering and chassis. In 1957, at the age of 39, he left Kurogane for Honda and became the third Honda Research Department at Honda R&D.

At first he was only assigned seven young engineers. More were involved in the development of the TAS260 . Takashi Kume, Tadashi, Mori Teruyuki and Niimura Kimio were responsible for engine development. The power transmission was done by Tadashi Nakamura, Yoshio Kurihara and Kiyoshi Kume. The chassis was the job of Kiyoshi Mori and Nagatomo Makoto worked around the subframe. The body was designed by Nakashima Hazime, the interior by Taisuke Mori, Kawamura Masao and Hagiwara Hidekuni. The development of the rear axle and the chassis was entrusted to Kiyoshi Mori, and that of the front axle to Kamiyama Mikihiro.

The drafts were completed in October 1958, and the first XA170 prototype was completed in early 1959 and the first driving tests were carried out. It had a longitudinally installed air-cooled four-cylinder V-engine with a 60 degree bank angle and two carburetors, which was combined with a four-speed gearbox. This test vehicle had only been designed for the first tests and had a semi- monocoque frame with a flat floor on which rear seats could also be installed. The bonnet and fenders were made of sheet metal and bolted on. The roof and the doors were made of plastic pieces and were clipped on. Due to various restrictions on air cooling, this four-cylinder V-engine was initially rejected as unsuitable. Air cooling was an obsession of Sōichirō Hondas, he stuck to air-cooled engines until the mid-sixties, but was convinced of the advantages of water cooling by his engineers after sales problems.

In 1967 the N360 and in 1968 the N600 with a transverse air-cooled two-cylinder engine came onto the market. In the Honda 1300/145 model series, air-cooled four-cylinder engines were also installed transversely at the front from 1969 .

The following two-seater prototype XA190 from December 1958 now had a longitudinally installed air-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine with two carburetors and a four-speed gearbox. The body was made of polyester.

In the prototype TAS260 from May / June 1962, the true predecessor of the S360, you could already see the small sports car, a water-cooled 360 cm³ 4-cylinder engine (XA250) was installed and tested. Two copies of him were built at the Honda Institute of Technology Albino / Wako.

In the prototypes 3X120 in April 1962 and XAK250 in June 1962, a water-cooled 360 cm³ engine was also used for the T360 van .

The Japanese government, represented by MITI , decided in 1962 to pass a law that would give only three companies the rights to build automobiles. The colors red and white on commercial vehicles were banned by law, which Honda actually preferred for its new vehicles. It was believed that white vehicles could be confused with the ambulance or the police (white / black) and red vehicles with the fire department. Sōichirō Honda campaigned with the help of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun in an article for the free choice of color on vehicles. The ban was lifted a little later.

The first presentation of the red S360 (TAS260) was on June 5, 1962 at the 11th National Honda Meeting on Honda's own and soon afterwards completed Suzuka race track . Sōichirō Honda himself drove the car to this internal presentation, where a few privileged dealers were also present. These dealers were happy to soon be able to offer vehicles in order to cope with declining motorcycle sales in the winter months.

The first official presentation of the S360 (AS250) was on October 25, 1962 at the 9th Tokyo Motor Show . The metallic silver-colored S360 Cabriolet was presented with a water-cooled 360 cm³ engine next to the T360 (T stands for mini truck) and the scarlet S500 .

None of these twelve S360 prototypes have survived.

Honda T360

Due to marketing considerations, the S500 was seen as the better vehicle, also for export. Only the T360 , which occurred in August 1963, the Japanese market had now water-cooled 360 cc engine with 30 hp more civil (22 kW) at 8,500 min -1 .

technology

The small, water-cooled 360 cm³ high-performance engine made of cast aluminum was positioned lengthways at the front and inclined 45 degrees to the left around the longitudinal axis in the engine compartment in order to allow a lower installation height. For the bearings of the crankshaft , the two overhead camshafts and for the lower connecting rod bearings , Honda used needle bearings, which not only resulted in lower friction losses but also fewer lubrication and cooling problems. Four Keihin horizontal throttle valve carburetors supplied the engine with the mixture, which produced 33 hp (24 kW) at 9,000 rpm. The mean piston speed at rated speed was 14.1 m / s. This resulted in an outstanding liter output of 92.6 hp / l.

Incidentally, some of Honda's engine designers were part of Dr. Nakagawa, under whose direction the engines of the Zero fighter ( Mitsubishi A6M ) were created.

The power was transmitted via a cardan shaft and differential via two drive shafts and from there via a chain on the left and right to the rear wheels. The chain cases with an oil bath were supported on the frame as rockers by coil springs with internal telescopic shock absorbers. The car thus had an independent suspension . This construction principle was retained for the entire Sports series. Only the later S800 got a conventional rigid axle on trailing arm and Panhard rod from May 1966 . The front wheels were guided on wishbones and dampened by shock absorbers , as well as by a left and right longitudinal torsion bar that was attached to the frame. The deceleration was done by four drum brakes .

The instruments passed from the tachometer to 11,000 min -1 (red area 9,000 min -1 ), tachometers to 140 km / h cooling water thermometer, ammeter and the fuel gauge. The S360 had a split front bumper and only one exhaust pipe. A glass dome was built on each of the headlights and parking lights. The grille had four struts in which the indicators were integrated. The soft top - hood was fully retractable.

The first red prototype TAS260 of the S360 had a tubular frame and the body was mainly made of polyester , which is described in the Japanese book Honda Sports . It was presented at the 11th National Honda Meeting at the Suzuka Circuit.

The second, white or silver prototype ( TAS260 ) was also shown at the Suzuka circuit. The prototype had a box frame made of steel and an aluminum body. It still had 6 "main headlights (= 152 mm ). The body was a little more rounded and a little longer from the main headlight to the front wheel opening. The front grille was a little narrower than on the following AS250.

The third, silver metallic-colored prototype S360 ( AS250 ) was presented at the 9th Tokyo Motor Show and had 7 "main headlights (= 178 mm ) and a tank cap that could be closed on the side. This prototype also had a steel box frame, but the body The Honda Institute of Technology Albino / Wako built two copies in 1962 and another eight in the Honda's Hamamatsu plant in 1963. Five more incomplete copies were used to develop the S500.

Since the car was 2.99 m shorter than 3 m, the buyer did not need to provide evidence of his own parking space, as is required for longer vehicles in Japan. So he could reach a large group of buyers. This miniature car was known as the kei car class in Japan in the 1960s .

Model overview

Honda's S series
Technical specifications S360 prototype S500 S600 S800
engine In-line four-cylinder four-stroke engine (light metal), water-cooled,
DOHC , 4 Keihin horizontal throttle valve carburettors
Displacement 356 cc 492 cc 606 cc 791 cc
Bore × stroke 49 × 47 mm 54 × 58 mm 54.5 × 65 mm 60 × 70 mm
compression 9.5: 1 9.5: 1 9.5: 1 9.2: 1
power 33 horsepower at 9000 min -1 40 hp at 8000 min -1 57 horsepower at 8500 min -1 67.2 hp (49 kW) at 7570 min -1
Max. Torque ( SAE ) 26.5 Nm at 7000 min -1 37.3 Nm at 8000 min -1 51 Nm at 5500 min -1 68.6 Nm at 5800 min -1
Carburetor Solex Mikuni BSW28 KEIHIN CVB 31-26-1 / RP 35-29P-40 KEIHIN CVB 31-26-1 KEIHIN CVB 36N-30-A1 / from 1968 = 1000-338-00
Engine weight ? 118 kg 102 kg 105 kg
body Ladder frame with all-steel body
Front landing gear Independent suspension with wishbone , torsion bar , shock absorber , stabilizer
Rear landing gear Independent wheel suspension with
chain case swing arm and coil spring 		Rigid axle ,
trailing arm , Panhard rod , coil springs
Length × width × height (mm) 2990 × 1295 × 1146 3195 × 1295 × 1146 3300 × 1400 × 1200 3335 × 1400 × 1215
Wheelbase (mm) (TAS260 = 1950) 2000 2000 2000 2000
Ground clearance (mm) 160 160 160 160
Standard tires 5.20-12 2PR 5.20-13 5.20-13 4PR 145 or 155 SR13
Turning circle 8.4 m 8.6 m 8.6 m 8.8 m
Empty weight 510 kg 725 kg 720 kg

(730 kg Coupé)

740 kg

(755 kg coupé)

Top speed over 120 km / h over 130 km / h 145 km / h 160 km / h
Acceleration 0-100 km / h approx. 20 s approx. 18 s 13.8 s

(13.9 s Coupé)

13.7 s
Tank capacity 25 liters 25 liters 30 liters 35 liters

(30 liter coupé)

consumption

(Super Plus 98 RON )

5 l / 100 km at 90 km / h 5 l / 100 km at 100 km / h 5.3 l / 100 km at 100 km / h 8 l / 100 km at 110 km / h
Factory price not on sale 459,000 yen

(Japan only)

509,000 yen

(Japan)

7,750 DM

(1967)

Production time 1961-1963 Oct. 1963 – Sept. 1964 March 1964–1966 Jan. 1966 – May 1970
production

(Number of pieces)

12 Cabriolet 1353 13,084 11,523

Production summary table

Honda S600 Cabrio + S800 Coupe in Japan
Honda's S series
number of pieces S500 convertible S600 convertible S600 coupe S800 convertible S800 coupe Total number of pieces
1963 136 136
1964 1227 3912 5139
1965 7261 1519 11 8th 8799
1966 111 281 1734 539 2665
1967 888 4248 5136
1968 990 2291 3281
1969 147 509 656
1970 15th 143 158
number of pieces 11284 1800 3785 7738
Total number of pieces 1353 13084 11523 25,960

Replica

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. has rebuilt a copy of a Sports360 prototype according to old plans and presented it to the public on October 13th and 14th, 2013 at the Honda Sports 50th Anniversary in Motegi / Japan. This vehicle was also shown at the Tokyo Motor Show 2013 alongside the new S660 CONCEPT .

literature

  • Unknown author: Honda Sports. creative boutique Neko, Japan 1978, (Japanese)
  • Jürgen Lewandowski: Honda Automobile. Südwest Verlag, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-517-01078-2 .
  • various authors, e.g. B. Shigeru Miyano: Honda Sporrs S 360-S800M. MIKI Publishing House, Japan 1990, ISBN 4-89522-141-5 . (Japanese)
  • various authors: The Pursuit of Dreams. Car Graphic Japan, 1998, ISBN 4-544-04060-4 . (English version)

Web links

Commons : Honda S360  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ HONDA AUTOMOBILE from 1988, p. 32.
  2. ↑ History Honda S360 , 4th article Nothing Is Impossible, p. 1, English
  3. ↑ auto, motor und sport , issue 25/1962
  4. ↑ カ テ ゴ リ ー 「Honda T360 T500」 の 記事 mizma-g.cocolog-nifty.com Sports360. 2007, pp. 14-21. (Japanese)
  5. ↑ a b HONDA SPORTS , creative boutique Neko, 1978, p. 28, Japanese
  6. ↑ HONDA AUTOMOBILE from 1988, partly from page 156 + 157
  7. ↑ Sports360 production. 2007. (Japanese; mizma.tuzikaze.com )