Dynamite comes in small packages and the S660 reaffirms just that. Just how exciting is Honda’s latest compact sports car? We took to the track to find that out.
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Honda and Jim Gorde
What was I doing when I was 27? Not racing, for sure. I was sketching and doodling cars and writing about them. However, a certain Ryo Mukomoto, at that age, was busy creating a car that he says would match the fun factor of bigger, more expensive cars. That vision — and, of course, support from Honda — meant that the new car would soon be an exciting reality.
A spiritual replacement for the Honda Beat, drawing inspiration from the classic S2000, a high-revving tuner car made popular in drift culture and in several videogames, the S660 aims to recreate the magic associated with small sports cars that don’t cost the Earth. How does it go about doing that? For starters, it’s a kei car — light vehicle in Japan exempt from several regulations because of size — and that means it has a tiny engine and weighs next to nothing. That sounds interesting, but yet not engaging. But the S660 adds three more aspects to the idea: a turbocharger, a coupé-roadster body style, and an extremely low centre of gravity. Besides, the engine is mounted in the middle, behind the driver and powers the rear wheels. If that doesn’t spell out exciting, I don’t know what does.
It’s not like it’s devoid of anything. It has a sculpted body, LED projector headlamps, and snazzy mixed wheels with adequate tyres — 165/55 R15 front and 195/45 R16 rear. It measures just 3,395 millimetres long and tips the scales at 850 kg. Power comes from the mid-transverse, three-cylinder in-line S07A motor displacing 658 cc, strapped with a turbocharger. That means 64 PS and 104 Nm. Doesn’t sound like much, even after all the explanations. We were sceptical, too. Of course, nothing like a drive on a track to convince us.
Being just 125 mm off the ground, means the feeling of sitting low is akin to that of a go-kart. There isn’t much elbow room and everything falls into place perfectly. It wasn’t a tight fit for me, rather a sort of tailored fit, and that’s great. Off we went.
