Honda N360

Honda N360/N600
1969 Honda N360 sedan
Overview
ManufacturerHonda
Also called
  • Honda LN360
  • Honda N400
  • Honda LN400[1]
  • Honda Scamp[2]
  • Honda N600 Fu Gui (ROC)[3]
  • Honda NIII 360 [4]
Production1967–1972
Assembly
Body and chassis
ClassKei car/city car
Body style
LayoutFF layout[7]
Related
Powertrain
Engine
  • 354 cc N360E air-cooled I2
  • 402 cc N400E air-cooled I2
  • 598 cc N600E air-cooled I2
TransmissionFour-speed manual constant mesh, dog-clutch engagement[8]
three-speed automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase2,000 mm (78.7 in)
Length2,995 mm (117.9 in)
Width1,295 mm (51 in)[8]
Height1,346 mm (53 in)[8]
Curb weight508 kg (1,119 lb)[8]
Chronology
Successor

The Honda N360 is a small front-engine, front-wheel drive, two-door, four-passenger car manufactured and marketed by Honda from March 1967 through 1970 in Japan's highly regulated kei class — as both a two-door sedan and three-door wagon.

After a January 1970 facelift, the N360 became the NIII360 and continued in production until June 1972.[9] A larger-engined variant, the N600, was marketed through 1973. All models used a straight forward two-box design that complied with kei dimensional regulations — though vehicles with the 401 cc and 598 cc engines exceeded the kei engine displacement limits and were largely intended for markets outside Japan.

The N360 featured front wheel drive and an air-cooled, four-stroke, 354 cc, 31 PS (23 kW; 31 hp) two-cylinder engine. While ultimately derived from Honda's motorcycle engines, the N360E engine has a 360-degree crankshaft angle ("parallel twin") unlike the 180-degree "vertical twin" setup typically used on Honda's two-cylinder motorcycle engines.[10] This same engine was used in the Honda Vamos, where it was coupled with a beam axle/leaf spring rear suspension.

The simple N360 name, along with its variants, used the "N" prefix, which stood for norimono and translated from Japanese to English as vehicle (or car) — distinguishing the cars from the company's motorcycle offerings.

In 2012, Honda introduced the Honda N-One, an homage inspired by the 1967–1973 N sedans.

  1. ^ The LN360 and LN400, www.hondan600.com Retrieved on 4 March 2015
  2. ^ The Honda Scamp, www.hondan600.com Retrieved on 4 March 2015
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference SYM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Honda 1971, classiccarcatalogue.com Retrieved on 11 October 2024
  5. ^ Leeps (4 June 1989). "Rust Busters". New Straits Times: New Sunday Times, 21. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  6. ^ Honda Annual Report 2009: Corporate Information (PDF), Honda Motor Co. Ltd., p. 85, archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2009, retrieved 13 December 2010
  7. ^ Weenink, Luc (ed.). "Specs N360, N600 & AN600". Honda N360 & Honda N600. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Autocar196801 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Inouye, Koichi (1985). World Class Cars Volume 2: Honda, from S600 to City (in Japanese). Tokyo: Hoikusha. p. 165. ISBN 4-586-53302-1.
  10. ^ Black, Byron (April 1971). "The Minicars of Japan". Road Test. p. 67. Archived from the original on 16 July 2023 – via Curbside Classic.