When it comes to really cool Hondas, the U.S. never gets anything good. Sure, we got the Honda Civic Type R, and there are Integra Type Rs floating around on the used market. But what about cool cars like Honda S660? You might be wondering what that is, so let’s take a closer look.

Fun size

The Honda S660 is a Kei car from Japan that takes a lot of styling cues from the S2000 and the new NSX. What is a Kei car? A Kei car is a category of really small cars in Japan that are about as small as a Smart Fortwo and smaller than a Mini Cooper, but with really tiny engines.

For reference, the Honda S660 measures in at 133 inches in length, while a Mini is 151 inches and a Smart Fortwo is 106 inches long. So it’s tiny, but why would they drive such tiny cars in Japan? Mainly because the roads there are very windy and narrow – so there’s a slight need for small cars – and they are very affordable and fuel-efficient.

Just think of Kei cars as motorcycles on four wheels, with body panels, and more than one seat.

Body

In Japan, Kei cars can’t be any longer than 137 inches, any wider than 59 inches and its engine can’t be any larger than 660ccs. As such, the Honda S660 is as tiny as you can imagine, but it packs a lot of style into almost every square inch.

It’s a two-seat convertible like an S2000, however, it has the aggressive and jagged styling essence of the newer NSX – especially the front end – and It rides on a 15/16-inch staggered wheel setup.

Don’t look for a trunk or any kind of storage, though. The engine sits behind the seats and there is a front trunk, but it’s mainly there to stow the soft convertible top when you remove it and roll it up.

Engine

There’s not too much to see here, literally. As stated before, the S660 is powered by a 660cc, three-cylinder engine that produces 64 horsepower and 76 lb-ft of torque. It can be mated to either a CVT automatic or six-speed manual transmission and it good for 0-60 mph times in the 10-second range.

Interior

The interior of S660 has two bucket seats and a driver-centric dashboard. The HVAC buttons are neatly laid out on the center stack and small touchscreen sit front and center. There’s not much in terms of storage, as there’s barely even a glove compartment. In fact, you’re lucky enough to have one cupholder.

Why can’t we get one here?

In case you’re wondering, the Honda S660 costs equivalent to $17,000 in Japan, and while that sounds expensive for what it is, the cost isn’t the reason we don’t get one here in the U.S.

We can’t get cars like the S660 here due to U.S. safety and smog regulations. On top of being stringent on our policies, it’s a little too small for our big roads.  

Could you really imagine driving one of these next to a semi-truck on a Texas freeway? It would be scary, but we would do it. It’s too bad we can’t get one here.