Vehicle Description
If you've been paying attention to the collector car market, then
you know that Japanese imports are gaining ground as hot
collectables. We can't promise that this 1971 Honda Z600 will
become a hot property overnight, but history shows us that
ground-breaking cars from major manufacturers that transform
markets are often worthy of their place in history and in
collectors' garages. Perhaps this Honda Z is such a car.
You may not know it, but you're looking at a revolutionary piece of
machinery that has helped catapult millions of people into the
modern world. Japanese leaders saw a glaring need for their people
after WWII: personal transportation. However, the goal was to serve
an emerging market - one that could not afford a full-size car, but
also didn't want a motorcycle to serve as their main family
conveyance. In came the Kei car revolution, with Honda leading the
way with cars like this Z600. Roomy enough for a small family, yet
sporty enough to actually enjoy out on the road, these ambitious
little cars started a 'hot-hatch lite' revolution and brought the
developed world into the future, one cute 'pet' car at a time. But
more than that, they also left an indelible impression in the
Western world as plenty of these Kei cars grew in popularity in the
United States and changed what the American public wanted in their
cars. Perhaps you remember these zipping around city streets in the
early '70s, or maybe you had one, as the Z-cars were the first
truly mainstream Japanese vehicles to appeal to the American
public's fickle tastes, and that was likely due to Honda's
wonderful combination of quality, fun-to-drive-quotient, and
economy. Most of them were orange or bright red like this little
Z-car, so they were high-visibility, which I suspect was
intentional, and despite the fact that everyone was deriding these
as inferior to Detroit iron, one drive will convince you otherwise.
Just the fact that the gaps are still tight, the average
driver-grade paint is shiny, and all the unusual little bits and
pieces are still intact speaks highly of the quality and care this
car has received over the past 50 years. Blacked-out bumpers, a
matching jaunty roof spoiler, and those familiar unique taillights
out back make this a car that's going to trigger memories for
everyone who sees it.
The interior is remarkably tidy and surprisingly spacious for such
a small car. The upgraded modern Si bucket seats emphasize Honda's
driver-first mentality, and they're incredibly sporty yet all-day
comfortable with their durable cloth-and-vinyl seat covers that
will wear like iron. Controls are simple and effective, with a big,
fat racing steering wheel to manage the unassisted steering, and
that unique 4-speed manual shifter jutting out from under the
center of the dash - a design that Honda would reintroduce in their
sporty Civics many decades later. The original Nippon Seiki gauges
are big, round dials that are easy to read and if you've ever
driven a Honda, you'll quickly recognize the font, as they looked
like this for decades. Amazingly enough the AM radio survived all
of these years, although it will need to be supplemented if you
want working tunes in the cabin, although we hope the next owner
will tuck any new head unit away in the glove compartment and the
leave the stock dash completely uncut and original like it is
today. Speaking of which, the dash pad is still in great shape, as
are the door panels at the flanks, the white headliner above, and
plush black carpets below, and the back seat - while not exactly
spacious - is more than reasonable for a microcar. There's even
decent cargo room behind the back seat, and fortunately, the seat
folds down and expands it to a significant degree for hauling just
about anything.
Honda's 598cc Inline-2 (hence the Z600 namesake) isn't going to win
any drag races, but it feels energetic and durable going about its
business. This was, after all, an economy car, but there's no rule
that says economy cars need to also be boring. The motor is
air-cooled and still uses a carburetor, but the technologically
advanced design works very well in the lightweight car (even the
engine is all-alloy) and makes the car feel perky around town. The
engine bay is highly original and very clean, and it appears to be
entirely complete from top to bottom and has not been modified in
any major way. Note how the engine is canted forward a bit to
facilitate packaging, and mechanics back-in-the-day loved working
on these cars because they could lift the motor with one hand,
while working on it with the other. It's as reliable as you'd
expect from a Honda, and surprisingly lively, with a relatively low
original horsepower output (36-45HP) that could achieve 9000RPM and
propel to a top speed of 81MPH when new. The 4-speed has light
clutch action and the coil-sprung independent front suspension is
surprisingly agile, so you can drive this car with gusto. Alloy
wheels are wrapped around Falken tires that are modestly-sized
165/70/10s, but with so little car to move around, they don't need
to be big and that means they're affordable, too.
A neat, well-preserved piece of Japanese motoring history, I think
we'll see more of these in the coming years. Get ahead of the curve
and call today!
