Tuesday 29th October 2019

Bike-engined N600 wins Honda Super Tuner Legends

The N600 was the first Honda car sold in the US; this one is a little quicker than standard...

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You'll know by now how the SEMA show goes: companies that tune cars go to ever-increasing lengths to make their vehicles stand out in a wealth of hyper-modified vehicles. As such, the finished products can end up looking a little silly, even when the OEMs get involved. Silly in a good way, sure, but a little over-the-top nonetheless.

So to see that a humble N600 has won Honda's Super Tuner Legends Series - a competition that sounds like it's from Gran Turismo, but actually gets the victor a spot at SEMA - is something of a surprise. Of course, the car has significance as the first four-wheeled Honda sold in the US, but it seems a little humble for SEMA.

However, where once this car would have had a 600cc, 45hp, 9,000rpm(!) two-cylinder engine, it now has an 800cc, 115hp, 12,000rpm V4 from a Honda VFR bike. A five-year project for owner Stephen Mines, the N600 also has Mazda MX-5 suspension and brakes, Polaris RZR seats and bumpers hacked down from a Chevy Camaro. Mongrels never looked so good!

"I'm thrilled and humbled that my N600 not only stood out, but was selected as the winner of the first-ever Honda Super Tuner Legends Series," said Mines of his achievement, a man who describes himself as "owner of more than a few Hondas". Imagine what else is in the collection...

The three other finalists for the award included two Civics - one from 1978 and one from 2015 - as well as an S2000. With SEMA kicking off next week, the little N600 on the Honda stand looks like being one of the show stars. And finally, if this has you wondering what a V4 bike engine sounds like in a 50-year-old kei car, there's a video of it below...

Find a Honda here.

[1781cc]

Now thats incredibly unique - hats off to the builder, what a great car and a great story

[dzernski]

Rarely has so much noise been made by something going so slow.
I love the bit where the presenter has to ask twice whether he needs to use the clutch whilst upshifting...after having clearly not using it before

[swampy442]

dzernski said:

Rarely has so much noise been made by something going so slow.

You've seen a Civic before, right?

I love that, nice to see something different

[cookie1600]

For those interested in the detail (all 43 loaded pages of it!) here is the build thread:

http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36...

Other N600 engine swaps, front and mid:

https://engineswapdepot.com/?p=43302

https://engineswapdepot.com/?p=15511

https://honda-tech.com/forums/classic-hondas-106/1...

[arkenphel]

Oooh, very nice! Never seen one of them before! Very original mini like.

[ZX10R NIN]

I have to say I'm surprised he didn't use the 1200 V4 or the Fireblade engine.

Saying that, the smile on Mat Farah's says maybe 800cc's is all you need.

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Tuesday 29th October 14:56

[Jaaws]

What a marvellous thing. 50mph@12,000 rpm and what sounds like 130dB. Brilliant!

[Don Roque]

dzernski said:

I love the bit where the presenter has to ask twice whether he needs to use the clutch whilst upshifting...after having clearly not using it before

I did laugh at that. The presenter seems like one of those goofy TV types there to whoop and holler, rather than having a proper understanding of what he's looking at.

[Koolkat969]

Don Roque said:

I did laugh at that. The presenter seems like one of those goofy TV types there to whoop and holler, rather than having a proper understanding of what he's looking at.

That's Matt Farah. I recommend you do some research about him. You should really know about him if you're a car guy.

[BVB]

The N600 and Autobianchi A112 look very related.....

[humphra]

The sound of that thing..... just addictive!

[Water Fairy]

Love it but all that trouble and 'only' 115bhp? Imagine it with a 200bhp bike motor..........

[ZX10R NIN]

The same guy built this P1800

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us3HfDZFS2c

[AMGSee55]

I think 115 brake is just fine personally. Must be a very respectable power to weight ratio.

[CubanPete]

I love that.

[Krikkit]

AMGSee55 said:

Water Fairy said:

Love it but all that trouble and 'only' 115bhp? Imagine it with a 200bhp bike motor..........

I think 115 brake is just fine personally. Must be a very respectable power to weight ratio.

Me too - double the original power in a car that weights 600-odd kg.

Undoubtedly one of the best-sounding bike engines there is at sensible revs, and cheap to replace if something went wrong.

This is a good example of how they sound in person: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl07b92SpC8