What do you think is the most loveable Kei car of all? Perhaps it’s the mid-engined rollerskate that is the Honda Beat, as it’s the smallest canvas on which you could slap ’90s Honda styling cues. The Beat is a pretty little thing, but it was brisk, with 64 hp out of the 656cc engine, helped by a Multi Throttle Responsive Engine Control system. What exactly does it do? Beats me.
Yellow here is the signature colour for them, but other hues such as deep dark turquoise were available.
The front wheels of the Beat are 13-inch, the rear wheels are 14-inch. That should give you an idea of how small the two-seater is, and only due to the strengthening measures a convertible needs, it weighs a whopping 760 kg, or 160 kg more than the Suzuki Alto Works. That’s two passengers’ worth, if you’re talking about the kind of people you can just about fit in the Beat.
Talking about the engine, I love to be able to say the Beat’s motor produces 60 Nm of torque at 7000rpm.
These promotional images are fantastic, by the way.
There were 33 600 Beats produced between 1991 and 1996, and famously it was the last car to be approved by Mr. Soichiro Honda.
[youtube width=”720″ height=”480″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGfYGnCrre0[/youtube]
I would love to blast through a night-time city in a car as hilarious as this.
Kei Car Weekend Edition – Honda Beat
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i can only assume that there was a here-unticked option box for a radio.
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So how many people are planning to collect the set of Kei sports cars (Beat, Cappuccino, AZ-1) when they become legal to import?
The AZ-1 will be the toughest to find, and probably the most expensive to acquire, but such a collection should still be attainable for a collector of modest means. It’s beyond my means, but you shouldn’t have to be part of the 1%.
I know Autozams don’t come up for sale often, and when they do, go for tidy sums. Bring a Trailer had one back in 2013 that sold in the UK for the equivalent of about $20k. The rarity and “finally I can import one” mentality might spark bidding wars when they reach 25 years old, driving the prices even higher. Beats and Cappuccinos are comparatively common, and should go for 4-figure prices.-
If you are planning to collect the whole set then you will need big shelves in your living room.
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Yeah, living room wouldn’t work, but with some reorganization, I could easily fit 3 kei cars in my garage without getting rid of anything. The Beat and the Cappuccino are eligible for importation starting next year…either would be a fun start to a collection.
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As soon as I acquire my collection of 2-year import Honda motorcycles (CB-1, GB500, NT650, CB1000) I’ll get right to the Kei Car collection.
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While I admire this plan, I’d be far more practical & acquire a few kei trucks so I could haul the two-wheelers around when needed.
Also, the GB500 isn’t anywhere near as much fun as it should be, if my very limited experience with it (a single ride) was accurate. The others, however…. wheeeee!-
I did a 700 mile day on my GB500 once. It was not super powerful, but it was very, very satisfying to own. Well, until it blew up.
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Wow, I can’t imagine spending that much time on one (or any thumper) in a single day. They’re gorgeous, certainly one of the best looking Hondas of their time.
And I’m surprised to hear that it blew up – how very un-Hondaesque. -
It spun a crank bearing in the case. They repaired it under warranty but it had an annoying vibration after that they considered acceptable. I didn’t.
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The Cappuccino was officially exported to Germany for a year, if that’s of any help. Could one buy and ship them now, and wait until they are road legal, or is the mere possession a crime already?
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I believe you can import them, but can’t drive them on public roads. There are some kei trucks that have been used in warehouses etc. but they can’t go on the road.
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There was one at a Honda dealer here once, you can’t fully appreciate how tiny it is until you’re standing next to it. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to see if I fit inside.
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According to wikipedia, it’s apparently about the same size as an MG Midget (7.3″ shorter in length, but with a 10″ longer wheelbase)
MTREC is an individual throttle body intake setup, and what it does is make a little triple sound amazing!¡!
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It makes some great noises! The sound in the first video reminds me of that of a Wartburg 353 WR–a three-cylinder race car with three carbs.
I wonder what racing event is shown in that footage. I love the classic Le Mans-style start!
And there’s now a new one out in Japan released first as a show car, now in production and rumoured as USA bound with a bigger 1000c motor. (More than 64bhp!).
http://gas2.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/IMG_0080-620×350.jpg
http://roa.h-cdn.co/assets/15/14/980×490/landscape-1427743555-4150330-s660-009h.jpg
One of the things I’ve always been curious about is the untapped potential in some of these ‘Special Kei’s’. Engine displacement and power are limited by law, so why all that lovely technology? I -suspect- we all know the (usually unspoken) answer…
I have a Japanese friend who is a serious gear-head. Although reduced by circumstances to a mini-van nowadays ( Read Wife and two daughters) back in the day he was one of the Princes of the Hakone Skyline – a great road around a mountain lake not too far from Tokyo. He had a seriously modified Nissan Skyline (hadn’t you ever wondered why the car is named “Skyline?) as his weapon of choice. Of course it was also seriously illegal. The trick was to start the day after inspection and modify the car, neatly packing away all the stock gear. The day before the next inspection all visible illegal modifications were removed. The Japanese inspection system uses nice little paint stripes on inspected components which will also indicate tampering. I asked about this and he laughed. “Don’t they have paint stripper, paint, and brushes in America?” He also told me about beating a “Display of Speed”, burning rubber, ticket by removing his throttle cable bracket and bending it and taking it to court. ” Very, VERY sorry your Honor; mechanical fault; didn’t mean to do such a terrible thing. I am ashamed!” The Judge, knowing zero-point-zero about cars, bought it.
So, I bet there was a pretty nice aftermarket for these Honda Beats and all that stuff is boxes somewhere, having been removed when the cars were sold, and some serious power is just a metric wrench set away.
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I’d expect the Beat to be the one with the least potential, actually. It took independent throttle bodies to get it up to 64 PS, and you could put a bigger cam on it, but it’d hurt low-end torque, which it’s already missing. No VTEC here, so you don’t get a low-end and a high-end cam profile.
Now, the Cappuccino and AZ-1… those are turbocharged (in fact, they’re the same Suzuki engine, until later Cappuccinos), and not all that heavily boosted either. Those, as I understand, respond EXTREMELY well to mods. Like 80 hp without even trying, 100 hp is easy, and more is possible. -
I’ve started collecting this kei car magazine, mostly for the amazing cover art. ( https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CGMZydDWIAAw4Aj.jpg )
There’s an ad for a turbo + stroker kit on the back of the big Beat book. No power output quoted, but according to a section inside that translates roughly to “strongest Beats in history” (history ending in 1997) it put out around 120HP.-
Is that…a chibi-fied kei-van/P34 mashup? That’s excellent. Makes me think of the Gadgetmobile in mid-transformation (with some extra wheels from somewhere).
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What else do you expect the Pokémon version of Patrick Depailler to drive?
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http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/cto/5094727267.html
1991 Honda Beat – RHD – $18500
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/cto/5096838860.html
1991 Honda Beat RHD – $7500
Also, don’t overlook the toyota sera
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