Sold for £13,400
(including buyers premium)
Registration No: LKG 352F
Chassis No: 1004242
MOT: Exempt
In the early 1960s, Honda briefed a new, young team of engineers (the oldest being 28 years old) to design a 'Sporty' car under 360cc that was appealing to purchasers within the domestic Japanese market so that they could reap the tax benefits of such a small engine. By 1962, they had developed a car (known retrospectively as the S360) with an engine similar to their T360 Commercial truck that featured four cylinders, twin cams, a roller-bearing crankshaft and two twin-choke carburettors. This developed a whopping 33hp at 9000rpm which was outstanding for a 356cc engine. Unfortunately, the S360 never made it out of the prototype stage, but out of the ashes came the S500 which utilised the same standard design, but enlarged with a 531cc engine. In 1964 came the S600 which was up-powered again and a 'Fixed Head Coupe' was added as only a roadster was available up until this point.
Launched in 1965 at the Tokyo Motor Show, the Honda S800 replaced the S600. The model featured a 761cc capable of 70hp at 8000rpm and in April 1967 became known as the fastest sub-1 Litre car in the world. It is understood that 1,548 examples found buyers in the UK between 1967 and 1970.
First supplied to the UK market on 13th October 1967, chassis no. 1004242 was originally supplied in the gorgeous colour scheme of Silver Blue Metallic over a Black interior in Coupé form. The first owner is understood to have kept the car for over 40 years and performed a full cosmetic and mechanical overhaul in the late 1980s / early 1990s with documented evidence in the history file and then the car was purchased by a second keeper in around 2020 who ran the car until sold to the vendor in 2023. Immediately, the vendor spotted that the car was an incredibly sound example and set about a full external bare metal respray back to the original Silver Blue Metallic colour plus extensive mechanical work that included rebuilt hydraulics, a new stainless steel exhaust manifold, a carburettor rebuild and the re-chroming of some trim parts such as the grille.
The vendor now describes the car as being in overall 'very good' condition with the paintwork rated as 'excellent' thanks to the recent works. The vendor has used the car for a number of events in his ownership (which we can confirm as we have seen the car present!) and describes the mechanical condition as 'very good', a testament to the reputation for Japanese-built reliability.
For more information, please contact:
Lucas Gomersall
lucas.gomersall@handh.co.uk
07484 082430
Auction: Imperial War Museum | Duxford, Cambridgeshire, 19th Jun, 2024
An auction of classic, collector and performance motorcars held at the iconic and visually stunning Imperial War Museum, Duxford. Venue Details
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