Honda N600 Restomod Puts a Lot of Emphasis on ‘Mod’ Part
Flames and a CD player were the furthest things from the designer’s mind back in 1971.
The 1971 Honda N600 is a car that surely needs no introduction here on the pages of Honda-tech. It’s the first car that Honda imported to the US, the basis for everything we know and love today.
It’s bizarre to think that this tiny 600cc, two-cylinder buzzbomb would pave the way for something like the NSX or Civic Type R, but here we are. It’s understandable, then, that restoring these cars would become increasingly popular.
This ’71 N600 we found on RacingJunk was recently treated to a no-expense-spared restoration. Starting with a rust-free California car, this N600 was treated to a ton of new old stock parts. According to the ad, the engine, exhaust system, bumpers, and grille are all new Honda items.
The interior was totally refreshed, with such luxuries as tweed insert seats and power windows, a push button start, and an AM/FM stereo with a CD player.
Outside, the car was treated to a set of period-correct Cosmic mag wheels, wrapped in stick Yokohama Avid rubber. That should be more than enough rubber to handle the thunderous, stampeding 45 horsepower this tiny Honda produces.
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If we can be honest, we’re not totally sold on the paint job. The Hot Wheels flames and Japanese roof flag are a bit much. It’s easy to go too far when restoring or modifying a car, and we think that this N600 takes things just a bit too far.
Still, it’s a nice car overall, and if you’re a fan of the paintjob, you could pick this thing up (figuratively and literally, we’d imagine) for $12,000 and stick it in an otherwise unused corner of the garage for the occasional Cars & Coffee or Sunday drive.
That’s a lot of money for a small novelty like this flamed-out N600, but with the prices of classic Japanese cars going up by the day, it’s likely to find a home soon.