Honda S800

Total Production: 11,406 1966 - 1970
Introduced in 1965 at the Tokyo Motor Show, the S800 was a sports car that replaced the S600 as the new image of the company. Offered for sale in 1966, the S800 was sold in standard and 'SM' trim levels.
Similar to the S600, the S800 was available as either a roadster or a coupe. There had to be significant displacement increases to both the front and rear of the vehicle.

With a 791 cc engine, the vehicle was capable of producing 70 hp at 8000 rpm and could achieve a total of 1000mp while still able to boast 35 mpg.

The original 242 coupes and 752 convertibles continued to keep the chain rear-drive and independent rear suspension of the vehicles before it.

The vehicles that followed had an updated rear chain and suspension configuration that had a more conventional live rear axle that retained four-wheel drum brakes.

After this update, the front disks replaced the four-wheel drum setup.
Though the S800M was never officially imported to the American market, in 1968 the model was introduced with outside side marker lights, lean carburetion underneath the hood, dual-circuit brakes, varied taillight configurations, and safety glass.

Unfortunately, all changes were in vain as the high revving engine produced too many hydrocarbons. With new regulations in place, the S800 was too much of a line crosser.

Honda ceased production of the S800 after a lack of support from the American market. A total of 11,536 S800s were produced before production ended in May 1970.

By Jessica Donaldson