The S800 Was the S2000 before the S2000

Looking back to the past

The S800 was a little 2-door from Honda that could rev high...like really high. Sound familiar to you? Under the hood was a four-cylinder engine that produced 70 horsepower and could rev all the way up to 10,000 RPM. The car even has the distinction of being Honda's very first car that could hit 100 mph. 

Necessary changes

Earlier versions of the vehicle used a chain drive and an independent suspension in the rear. Then, Honda switched it up and changed over to a conventional drive-shaft with a live rear axle and four radius rods. Then disc brakes replaced the front drums for better stopping power.

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It meant business

Then came the racing version of the little car that Honda only produced two examples of. Honda of France developed a competition client version of the normal S800 and debuted it at the 1967 Paris Motor Show. This Parisian S800 had 90 horsepower from a performance-tuned engine. 

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The French mod bug

The Paris Motor Show S800 models had a shaft drive and live rear axle to aid in dealing with the extra 20 horsepower coming from the synchromesh dogleg transmission. Magnesium wheels were added to cut down on unsprung weight. Twin roll hoops were added in with racing harnesses because why not? This was a car that Honda France thought was going to run hard in motorsports so it makes sense to outfit it for racing. 

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And then there was the successor

The S800M was then introduced with the updates of side marker lights, dual circuit brakes, and lean burn carburetion. In 1970, the S800 ended production. However, thirty years later, Honda once again released a roadster, it was the S2000. And the rest is history.

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