Convertibles are usually slow sellers because they’re not practical. Therefore, when a company wants to offer one, it tends to invest in luxury, so as to earn money through price rather than quantity. Fortunately, there are some others which prefer to go the opposite way, despite the fact that it’s harder. In other words, they strive to find ways to join interesting dynamic behavior and attractive styling to everything that could make the price tag look more realistic to generalist buyers. In the past few years, some companies achieved this goal in alternative ways, such as Citroën and Fiat: DS 3 and 500’s cabriolet variations were created replacing the hatchbacks’ roof with a fabric equipment with electric operation. Honda, in turn, had the same intention, but decided to go all the way.
After appearing as a concept car two years ago, S660 reaches the production lines pretty much unchanged. Honda’s master trick was simply to build it as a kei car: it belongs to that category which exists only in Japan, and gives tax benefits to cars whose dimensions and engines are as small as their internal room and fuel efficiency are big. If you are already familiar with them, you might be getting a déjà vu… which is right. This is sort of a spiritual successor to the Beat roadster sold in the 1990s. After releasing a hypercar as powerful and sophisticated as the brand new NSX, the Japanese automaker now presents a vehicle which delivers the same amount of fun (or even more, if you think of aftermarket costs) using much less of basically everything.
The newcomer’s talents begin with the awesome looks. The front fascia reminds of other Hondas, the rear features a very imponent bumper with an air diffuser and a beautiful set of LED lights, while the sides’ duo of strong creases takes the responsibility of connecting those two with as much style as you’d see in much bigger cars. Elements such as the shape of the lights or the size of the air intakes clearly show the benefits of having had its own project: this is not a spin-off of an everyday lineup that goes from hatchbacks to tiny cargo vans. S660 is underpinned by a chassis of its own, which is made of a combination of aluminum and steel and allows it to use mid-engine and rear-wheel-drive. Everything weighing very interesting 1830 pounds, according to Honda.
In Japan, the kei-car rules will force it to use N-Box’s turbocharged 660-cc engine, which delivers 63 hp. But since Honda went through such extensive work to develop this car, it’s already working on a 1.0-liter to equip the units dedicated to foreign markets. Sure, 125 hp might not seem much at first, but this is only because we’re used to think of them moving something like a VW Jetta. As if S660’s footprint wasn’t small enough, Honda gave it revised turbo geometry, raised its redline to 7700 rpm, tuned the six manual speeds seeking shorter shifts, graced the cockpit with well-positioned pedals and a tiny steering wheel, and added the Agile Handling Assist: it can brake an inside front wheel to improve handling. Right now, this car is already on sale, but only in Japan.