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...