Honda S600

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Honda S 600 convertible
Honda S 600 convertible
Honda S 600 Coupé (rear view)

The Honda S600 is a vehicle from the Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda , which was produced from 1964 to 1966.

development

The Honda S-Series includes pre-production model after the Sports 360 until the S 500 (built 1963-64), who came as a convertible with a water-cooled 531-cc engine on the market. It was produced from March 1964 in the Hamamatsu plant, from November in the new Sayama plant and now on an assembly line for larger quantities. At the same time, the production number was changed from five to seven digits.

In March 1964 the S600 convertible (type code AS285 and product code 506 in Japan and 507 for export) was presented and sold. In March 1965, the Honda S600 Coupé (type code AS285C and product code 508 in Japan and 509 for export) was produced and sold shortly afterwards.

The S600 was presented to the German public at the IAA in Frankfurt in 1965 . Exports from Japan began as early as February 1965. In the same year, 1,519 units of the SM600 and SM600 Coupé were sold in Japan as a luxury version with accessories and special paint. The additional parts were e.g. B. reversing light, radio, door switch for interior lighting and cigarette lighter. The special colors were "silver sky" for the SM600 and Alpine blue or sky blue for the SM600 Coupé, each with a black interior. The S600 did not exist in Germany, although Sōichirō Honda had already presented the S500 to the European public on a Rhine steamer near Koblenz in 1963. It was officially only sold in Japan, Australia, France, Italy and Switzerland. The first 50 S600 Cabrio + Coupé exported to Europe were unloaded on August 26, 1965 after the maiden voyage of the Hapag cargo ship MS Alemannia at the port of Hamburg. Two vehicles were given to two importers in Scandinavia, the others were sold to Switzerland and Italy. A total of 180 units of the S600 were imported via the Port of Hamburg and transported overland to Switzerland and Italy. The accessories included a heater, plastic hardtop (convertible), glove box lock, car radio with loudspeaker and telescopic antenna, cigarette lighter, luggage rack (convertible), inspection lamp with plug for cigarette lighter, adjustable passenger seat rail, rearview mirror for left + right fenders, low-tone horn, light switch for doors, spray hood (convertible), static three-point seat belts, reversing light, front passenger sun visor, floor mat, center armrest, spare wheel cover, headrest, door lock on the right, radiator blind for winter operation and a five-speed gearbox (straight teeth) on request. A price list stated 7,795 DM for the Cabriolet and 7,795 DM for the Coupé.

The S700 prototype from 1965, with a 687 cc engine and 72 SAE hp at 9500 rpm, was not produced.

At the 1966 Paris Motor Show , Honda presented the S 800 to the European public. It had already been presented and sold in Japan in January 1966. It was exported from October and after the establishment of the dealer network it was also available in Germany from March 21, 1967. The car was powered by an 800 cm³ engine with 67 hp (49 kW). The small sports car was offered in two versions, a convertible and a coupe .

The 1965 L700 and P700 had a tamer engine than the S600 and were Honda's first delivery vans (station wagon or flatbed). With an effective 687 cm³ they now produced 52 hp (38 kW) at 7,500 rpm.

With the introduction of the Roadster S2000 in 1999, Honda revived the old sports car tradition. The name cannot be denied that they are closely related, the technology and speeds are similar.

technology

A water-cooled 606 cm³ engine with 57 hp (42 kW) at 8,500 rpm was used as the drive, which corresponds to a liter output of 94 hp. At 18.41 m / s, the mean piston speed at nominal speed was quite high for a series vehicle. Two overhead camshafts operated the valves via bucket tappets . The crankshaft and the lower connecting rod eye had needle bearings. Four Keihin horizontal throttle valve carburettors (type CVB 31-26-1 ) supplied the engine with the mixture. 12 spark plugs type NGK D8E ( DR8ES-L ) and D9E were used for touring and D10E ( DR10ES ) for racing. The four-speed transmission was synchronized except for first gear. The power was transmitted via a cardan shaft to a differential to the 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 . Honda retained this construction principle for the entire Sports series. Only the later S800 got a conventional rigid axle on trailing arms and Panhard rod from May 1966 . The front wheels were suspended from wishbones with longitudinal torsion bar springs and shock absorbers . The car had drum brakes at the front and rear . The sheet steel body screwed onto a separate frame was partly hot-dip galvanized. The S600 can be recognized by the front grille with seven horizontal spokes. The vehicles from 1964 had the dome-shaped glass cover like the S500, which extends over the main headlight and the parking light glass. The models from November 1964 got a chrome frame, like the later S800, without the dome-shaped glass cover. The three-spoke steering wheel was made of aluminum, the steering wheel rim was made of wood.

As accessories there was a plastic hard top (convertible), glove box lock, door lock on the right, front passenger seat rails, cigarette lighter, car radio complete with antenna, spray hood, front passenger sun visor, floor mat, central armrest, luggage rack (convertible), headrest, radiator blind (for winter operation) , Reversing lights and five-speed gearbox.

The S600 in motorsport

Honda S 600 Racer replica

The S600 was also used in racing. In a first race on May 3, 1964, for the 2nd Grand Prix in Suzuka, the American racing driver Ronnie Bucknum won the GT-I class up to 1000 cm³ with a white factory-supported S600 convertible with a red hardtop (No. 15) and came thereby as a driver in the Honda Formula 1 racing team. The first six places in this race were taken by, among others, the factory-supported Japanese Genkitano.

The international racing debut was opened by New Zealander Denis Hulme , who later became Formula 1 World Champion (1967), on September 6, 1964 at the 500 km race on the Nürburgring . With a white S600 convertible / hardtop Gran Turismo - sports car (no. 88) cc with around 630 capacity had to take the handicap upon himself to start cc in the Gran Turismo class to 1000. He won in this class with an average of 106.3 km / h.

The Belgian Henri Quernette and the Japanese Nobuo Koga drove a white S600 convertible / hardtop (No. 47) on the long-distance trip Spa - Sofia - Lüttich in 1964, but retired due to an accident.

On the long-distance race Marathon de la Route (Nürburgring Route) in 1965, the Belgian Henri Quernette and the Japanese Nobuo Koga drove again in a white S600 convertible / hardtop (No. 43). They drove 289 laps in the 84-hour race on the Nürburgring circuit with 22.81 km, making them class winners. On this course, the vehicles had to reach an average speed of 102.6 km / h during the day and 67 km / h at night.

At the VII. International ADAC 500-kilometer race on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife , the Swiss James Bernard Fortmann drove in a red S600 convertible (No. 97) to a 9th place in class 9 for touring cars up to 700 cm³. He drove an average of 101 km / h in the 17 laps.

In 1966, WJ Lanek set a record in Monza with the S600 as a test driver for the technology magazine hobby . He was able to cover the standing kilometer in 35.635 seconds, which resulted in an average of 101.04 km / h. Also in 1966 Clay Regazzoni and Aldo Pessina drove a red S600 convertible (No. 1) at the 4 Hours of Campionato Europeo Turismo in Monza.

In the 1990s, Denis Hulme and Michael Ortmann, the head of the German S800 interest group, took part in historic races in the GT's (Gran Turismo) in the FIA ​​TC9 class with the S600 convertible / hardtop (No. 88) from 1964 up to 1150 cm³ from the years of construction 1962 to 1965, partly.

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 cm³) 531 cm³ 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 44 horsepower 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 on wishbones , torsion bars , shock absorbers , stabilizer
Rear landing gear Independent wheel suspension with
chain case swingarm, coil springs 		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 coupe) 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
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 1353 13084 11523 25,960

literature

  • Unknown author: HONDA SPORTS. creative boutique Neko, Japan 1978. (Japanese)
  • Jürgen Lewandowski: HONDA AUTOMOBILES. Südwest Verlag, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-517-01078-2 .
  • various authors, e.g. B. Shigeru Miyano: HONDA SPORTS 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 S600  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BILD am SONNTAG. November 28, 1965, pp. 22 + 23
  2. ↑ THE PURSUIT of DREAMS , Car Grahic Japan, 1998, ISBN 4-544-04060-4 , p. 34. (English edition)
  3. ↑ THE PURSUIT of DREAMS. Car Grahic Japan, 1998, ISBN 4-544-04060-4 , p. 36. (English edition)
  4. ↑ auto, motor and sport. Issue 20/1964, pp. 50 + 52 + 57
  5. ↑ auto, motor and sport. Issue 19/1964, p. 35.
  6. ↑ 1965 Honda SM600, Japanese Nostalgic Car, 2007. (English; japanesenostalgiccar.com )
  7. ↑ Marathon de la Route, 84-hour race. (English; homepage.mac.com )
  8. ↑ hobby. Issue 03/1966, pp. 48–54.
  9. ^ Coppa Europa Turismo. (clayregazzoni.ch)
  10. ↑ HONDA AUTOMOBILES. Südwest Verlag, 1988, ISBN 3-517-01078-2 , pp. 156 + 157
  11. ↑ Sports 360 production. 2007. (Japanese; mizma.tuzikaze.com)