Honda Beat

[Herb]

I wasn't sure what I was going to do with these photos. I happened to run into a 1991 Honda Beat at Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, NS this summer and took these shots.It's an eye catcher for sure. I figured you guys might enjoy seeing it.Here's what WikiPedia has to say about it:The Honda Beat is a mid-engined two-seat roadster kei car produced from in May 1991 to February 1996. The Beat was the last car to be approved by Soichiro Honda before he died in 1991. The total number of cars produced was around 33,600. Most of the production (around two-thirds) occurred in the first year, and then production and sales fell drastically. The design of the car originated from Pininfarina, who then sold the design plan to Honda.There were two mainstream models of the Beat (the PP1-100 and the PP1-110) and a couple of limited edition versions. Variations on the first model were just cosmetic updates. Only the second model had any real mechanical differences. All cars were offered with the option of a driver's side airbag.In typical Honda fashion, the Beat's engine did not utilize a turbocharger or supercharger. The 656 cc (40.0 cu in) engine was modified with the MTREC (Multi Throttle Responsive Engine Control) system, which included one throttle valve for each of the three cylinders, to produce 64 PS (63 bhp) at 8100 rpm. Only a manual transmission was available. The MTREC design would filter down to the 1993 Honda Today kei car.The Beat was part of a wave of kei car-sized sports cars in the early 1990s; its competitors included the Suzuki Cappuccino and Mazda's Autozam AZ-1. Together they predicted the arrival of the Smart Roadster over a decade later, while Japan would not see a new model of the genre until the recent Daihatsu Copen.

Attached files

[Herb]

Front view

Attached files

[Herb]

View from above

Attached files

[Herb]

Rear view

Attached files

[ColonelPanic]

That's cool! I remember that car, it was on a segment of Motorweek a long time ago... They played that Go Go's song during the segment. I had forgotten all about that car.Thanks for sharing, blast from the past... and something most of us have never seen on this side of the world.

[Herb]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »Thanks for sharing, blast from the past... and something most of us have never seen on this side of the world.No problem!I thought it was pretty cute for a car, and very unusual. I'm almost tempted to import one myself, just can't justify it though.

[northvibe]

ha cool!! I've heard of them but never saw them! It's like a mr2 and a miata baby

[NibCrom]

Cool sighting. I've never even heard of that car before. I can see why they don't sell it anymore. It is uuuugly.

[ou.grizzly]

Did you let the owner know that Honda placed his steering wheel on the wrong side?

[ClunkClunk]

I've seen it in Gran Turismo 4, but I don't think I've ever seen one in real life.

[Herb]

Quote, originally posted by NibCrom »Cool sighting. I've never even heard of that car before. I can see why they don't sell it anymore. It is uuuugly. Well to each his own I guess. The reason you never heard or seen of them here is that they were never manufactured for the NA market. These were JDM, Japanese Domestic Market only.