This classic Honda looks like it was just pulled from an air-sealed time capsule buried 40 years prior.
After the successful launch of their car division and the limited sales success of the S500, S600 and S800 roadsters in the late sixties, Honda wanted a car with which it could make further inroads into the American market. That car eventually came in the form of the Honda Z when it was introduced at the Tokyo Motor show in 1970. Sold from 1970 through 1972 (Note: the classified ad linked below states that the Z was manufactured through 1974, but our research concluded that production ended in 1972 to make way for the Civic.), it’s thought that about 15,500 Zs were sold in the US, and today about 600 examples remain with only half of those in running condition.
Like its roadster forbearers, the Z, or the Z600 as it was called in America, used tech borrowed from Honda’s motorcycle division and was essentially a sportier, rebodied version of the company’s N360. The engine was a 598cc air-cooled two cylinder with a single overhead camshaft (SOHC), mounted transversely. Both the block and the cylinder head were made of aluminum alloy. Though it only produced 36 horsepower, it could rev to 8000 rpm! According to one magazine it was also capable of delivering 136 mpg, with the only caveat being that it had to be kept under 30 mph.
At a mere 10 feet long, the Z600 was an extremely small car for the United States in the early seventies. Driving one while surrounded by two and a half ton Oldsmobiles and Mercuries would have sharpened the senses. However, the Z600 was more than capable of holding its own performance-wise. A weight of only 1300 pounds translated to a favorable power to weight ratio and well above average handling for the era. Power assisted disc brakes were fitted at the front and power went to the front wheels through a four speed syncro transmission. It even came with a tachometer!
4 Star Classics is currently selling what very possibly could be the greatest example of a Z600 coupe in the world right now. It spent most of its life in a museum above a Honda dealership in London and as a result has only 678 miles on the odometer. It’s basically in original, as new condition. Extra equipment, as stated in the ad, includes a spare wheel, tool kit, opening rear quarter windows, a rev counter and sun visors. It also looks just perfect in orange with that black racing stripe running down its flanks. All this originality and rarity doesn’t cheap, though. Asking price is currently £49,995 or about $77,500.
