Honda S660 'Trad Leather Edition'

The best things at Christmas come in small packages, right? Honda turns the clock back with its retro kei car

Everybody loves a kei car. Not really up for debate, is it? By putting Japanese technical innovation in a small (and typically very cute) package, only the coldest of cold hearts could not admire the kei car, which has now existed for nearly 70 years.

Proving that there's still life in the formula yet, the Honda S660 has been well received since its 2015 launch. Indeed when a Mugen version was driven for PH it was described thus: “And where the S660 was already a blast the Mugen jumps into a new dimension.” Now, like all the most memorable Japanese sports cars, Honda is launching a special model with a dubious name – welcome, everyone, to the S660 Trad Leather Edition.

At least that name is simpler to decipher than some have been in the past, this S660 merely one that looks a bit more traditional and features some additional leather. That sounds absolutely fine to us though, the little Honda wearing its British Green Pearl with tan leather like a true thoroughbred. In the (translated Japanese) release accompanying the car, Honda says the Trad Leather Edition has “a fine looking and refined presence” and an interior “that makes you feel the fine running”.

Beyond the cosmetic tweaks (and the addition of a City Brake system), the S660 Trad Leather Edition is mechanically identical to a regular S660. That means 64hp at 6,800rpm from a 660cc, three-cylinder turbo, heading to the rear wheels via either a six-speed manual or CVT gearbox. Apparently it can do 100mph...

Honda will launch the S660 Trad Leather Edition in Japan tomorrow. It’ll cost 2,275,560 yen, or £16k at current exchange rates. Don’t forget, either, that with a S660 TLE, “The more you run, the more the joy of manipulation fills with the scenery, with the times.” Don’t ever change Japan.