Kei To Success - Honda N360

Since the ‘60s, small cars had taken off. The ‘59-born Austin Mini was a worldwide phenomenon, and no matter how hard rivalling organisations tried to improve on the cheeky little thing’s design, none could match its practicality whilst retaining the effortless, cute appearance of the Mini. Issigonis’ creation had a range of 4-cylinder engines ranging from 850cc up to 1275, with the famous Cooper sporting version receiving firepower from a 55HP 997cc unit, which was truthfully just a standard 34HP 850 with a longer stroke.

It wasn’t until the late 1960s that manufacturers started getting things properly right. A prime example of this is the Honda N-series. The first cars started appearing in ‘67, so it’s well and truly a 60s vehicle. As technology had advanced in the 8 or so years since the BMC Mini, the engine in the original Honda competitor made only slightly less power, while being under half the size. The only model offered for the first two years of production was the N360, which had a 360cc inline-2 engine churning out a rather cold 31BHP, though this still nearly matched the much larger 4-cylinder engine from the old Brit.

As to be expected, the 360cc 2-pot wasn’t hugely successful. With a meagre 0-60 time of 29 seconds, the little N-car was never a spritely thing, though still achieved over 39mpg, which was an astonishing figure for what was little more than a 500kg metal box with an underpowered motorbike engine in it. To overcome the gutless engine’s faults, Honda introduced, for the 1969 model year, the 600cc N600. This vastly more energetic engine pushed around 45HP to the front wheels, which was, whilst perhaps not something to get hugely excited over, was still enough to drop the 0-60 time by over ten seconds, compared to the 360, and propel the little thing to upwards of 80 mph. In upping the power output however, sacrifices were made in the shape of fuel economy, which dropped to 34mpg.

Somewhat popular modifications for the N-series Hondas are engine swaps, with quite a few reputable examples utilising sportsbike firepower. This (green) example is quite possibly (after doing a lot of digging) one of the silliest things I’ve seen in some time, so is well worth a look. A 1200cc, front mounted Yamaha 1200cc bike engine, RWD, huge fender flares, very green paintjob and fat tyres. What’s not to love? Did I mention that it’s green?

As common as it is nowadays to recreate iconic models from a manufacturer’s past (see: Fiat 500, Mini, VW Beetle), a lot of the time the new interpretations share very little with their elders. The N-One is a good role model, retaining the huge circular headlamps and sizeable Honda logo of the older N-series vehicles. It is also a kei car, really sticking true to the heritage. Whilst there were cars in between them (such as the Life) , the N-One is the true descendant of the N360/400/600, even down to physical size. The One is available with a 660cc, 66HP three-cylinder engine (standard practice for modern day keis) which is shared with the S660 kei sports car, though unlike the sportier Honda, the N is a FWD car, with an optional 4WD system.

So all in all, the N-series cars were successful Mini counterparts, though are often shadowed by the Mini’s huge pop culture following. Honda’s cumbersome yet content quadricycle. Thanks for reading! (Quite short, been short of time as of late)