Honda to Begin Sales of All-New S660 Open-top Sports-type Mini-vehicle
Under the keyword of “Heart Beat Sport,” the development team pursued a full-fledged sports car that offers excitement and a heart-throbbing experience in everything about this vehicle and strived to realize the joy of driving that only Honda can create.
The S660 adopts the mid-ship engine/rear-wheel drive (MR) layout and realizes a low center-of-gravity as well as the optimal 45-55 front-rear weight balance, in order to realize excellent cornering performance, which the development team emphasized to maximize the fun of turning. Moreover, the S660 features an open-top body that achieves both high rigidity and lightweight at the same time. This body developed exclusively for the S660 creates an open-air cabin space that enables the occupants to feel the wind, see the sky and enjoy an extraordinary experience while also enjoying a cabin space that enables the occupants to feel enveloped and being used with the vehicle.
Furthermore, with a passion to create a vehicle that provides casual access to the joy of driving for anyone, the development team adopted an exclusively-designed turbo charger for the engine, enabling dynamic driving and high-accelerator response even in the low engine rotation range. As for the transmission, the S660 comes with a newly-developed 6-speed manual transmission, making the S660 the world’s first*1 mini-vehicle equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission. In addition, the S660 is also available with a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) with 7-speed paddle shifter that features a sports mode. The S660 realizes both driving performance unique to a car and easy handling in people’s everyday life.
- *1
- Internal research by Honda (as of March 2015)
< Key features of the S660 >
Fun of making turns
- With the adoption of the mid-ship engine/rear-wheel drive layout, the optimal 45-55 front-rear weight balance was realized to minimize the moment of inertia and improve traction performance.
- Paying close attention to the posture of the vehicle while rolling, the height of both the roll center and the center of gravity was optimized to suppress the roll during a turn and realize stable driving.
- For a first for a mini-vehicle*2, the Agile Handing Assist electronic control system was adopted for the S660. The Agile Handing Assist system uses brake torque to apply control in accordance with the movement of the vehicle body, which makes it easier to trace target line during a turn and realize smooth vehicle behavior with minimum handling operations.
- *2
- Internal research by Honda (as of March 2015)
Fun of driving
- Based on the in-line 3-cylinder DOHC Turbo engine, whose dynamic performance has been well recognized with the N Series, a newly-designed turbo charger was adopted to realize engine response appropriate for a micro-sized sports car.
- Exclusively for this model, the first 6-speed transmission for a mini-vehicle was developed with a wide range and cross ratio setting that enables it to utilize engine power to the maximum extent. Moreover, the S660 is also available with a CVT with 7-speed paddle shifter that can shift the vehicle into sports mode which the driver can use to enjoy driving with more direct response to accelerator operations. This transmission lineup will enable a broader range of customers to enjoy the fun of driving with the S660.
- Powerful engine sound unique only to a sports car was realized by applying Honda’s original sound tuning techniques to the breathing and exhaust sounds of the engine, the operating sound of the turbo charger, the sound of the blow-off valve that lets go of boost pressure, etc.
- An easy-to-operate, lightweight and detachable soft-top called a “roll-top” was adopted so that more customers can enjoy the fun of driving while feeling the wind in a more casual manner.
Fun of maneuvering
- The driver’s seating posture, hip point and the location of the accelerator and brake pedals are optimized to realize a driving position that gives the driver a feeling of driving a go-kart. A sense of unity between the driver and the vehicle was thoroughly pursued.
- The S660 features a steering wheel with a 350mm diameter, the smallest diameter among all Honda mass-market models, enabling the driver to enjoy brisk driving.
- To ensure comfortable driving in all seasons, the S660 features a fully automatic air-conditioning unit with the “mid-mode” for which new air outlets were added to blow the air to the thigh to waist-high areas. The rear center glass that goes up and down was also featured to realize a comfortable cabin space even when the top is open.
Exterior and interior design
- Under the exterior design concept of “energetic bullet,” the body was made low and wide and tires hold to the ground solidly in all four corners. The design team thoroughly pursued an exterior look that lets people anticipate the high level of dynamic performance this vehicle will provide.
- As for interior design, the team thoroughly pursued operability that realizes intuitive operations of a space designed especially for driving. Moreover, the overall visual and tactile interior quality was enhanced by striving to realize high quality appropriate for a full-fledged sports-type model.
