(Excerpts from “The Pursuit of Dreams”)
by: Shotaro Kobayashi
In the early spring of 1964 I tested the Honda S600, then just launched, both on mountain roads and also at the primitve Murayama Test Course. Immednsely impressed, I wrote an enthusiastic report for the April issue of Car Graphic and at the end I summarised the car by saying:
“The performance of the Honda S600 is above that of a 1.0-litre sports car. This, together with reasonable accomodation with superb weather protection, tough suspendsion and an unexpectedly flexible engine makes the Honda S600 an altogether highly practical proposition and a wonderful buy at 509,000 Yen. The reliability and durability of its complex engine couldn’t be assumed in this short test but time will tell us later, ” I wrote.
For today’s young generation, it may be impossible to visualise how enourmous the impact when Honda unveiled the S500/S600 in 1964. When the rev limit of a top European sports car was less than 6000 rpm, Honda’s jewel-like dohc engine was happy to be revved to 10,000 rpm or even more.
Then, one night in bed, I came up with what I thought was a great idea. Why not buy a Honda S600, ship it to Europe and follow the Honda F1 challenge over its first two or three races. then report back for Car Graphic, thus deftly scooping all other Japanese medias? The following morning, I decided to turn this idea into a reality.
From July to September 1964, my wife and I toured across Europe for 12,000 kms in our S600, starting from London and driving out to many parts on the Continent. As I was financing the trip myself, this meant it was a mixture of private holidays and business.
The three Grand Prix races we went to, the British at Brands Hatch, the German at the Nurburgring and Italian at Monza, were the highlights of our trip. I can still clearly remember the scene at the ‘Ring when the white-bodied Honda RA 271 with the big red rising sun painted on top, was pushed slowly up to the starting grid by Yoshio Nakaumura, the team manager, and his mechanics. For the first time in my life, I felt proud to be Japanese.
The real joy of this trip was the fact we were free to travel anywhere and do anything we liked. We scarcely visited tourist spots. We were young and optimistic so didn’t worry about a thing.
It was Honda people, however, who were worried: about us touring Europe in its new-born baby sports car. I heard later that Honda sent over an ivory-coloured S600, exactly the same as mine, as a back-up car, just in case.