It’s hard to believe that this tiny little car was the genesis of Honda’s road to profitability in the United States. Though a few examples of the earlier S500 and S600 roadsters made their ways stateside through third-party importers, the N600 was the first Honda officially imported to America. And boy, was it small. At just 118 inches long and 51 inches wide, it was more diminutive than the original Mini in both aspects, and its 1,200-lb curb weight was barely more than a Steinway grand piano. And it had a modest price to boot: just $1,300 ($8,700 adjusted), which was significantly less than most of its American “competition” at the time (I say “competition” because Detroit’s idea of a compact car at the time was the 179-inch-long Ford Maverick).

The original engine in the Japanese-market N360 was, aptly, a 360-cc four-stroke mill with just two cylinders. But Honda deemed that engine’s 31 horsepower too paltry for the export market, and upgraded the N600 to a healthy 42 HP.  The N600 sprinted to 60 in 22.2 seconds, and reached a blistering top speed of 77 MPH, both from a November 1970 Motor Trend test. The cheapest 2019 model in Honda’s stable (the Fit) has improved on those marks somewhat, reaching 60 in 8.2 seconds and topping out at 118. I suppose 50 years of progress does account for some of that difference. Some 35,000 N600s found buyers from 1970 to 1972, before emissions regulations and the vastly superior Honda Civic killed them off. Today, there aren’t too many left.

Glendale, CA

Photographed December 2017