Where You’ll Find The First Honda Ever Imported To North America
The N600 become the primary Honda imported to America. It debuted in 1967 whilst large, heavy, and thirsty muscle vehicles ruled American roads — years earlier than the company’s first massive splash withinside the U.S. automobile enterprise with the Honda Civic.
The N600 become now no longer as short as Detroit muscle, but it did pass from 0 to 60 mph in 22.2 seconds, with a modest pinnacle pace of seventy seven mph. As Hemmings suggests, this car commenced at $1,495 in 1972 — properly really well worth its buy fee to the proper kind of driver. Honda released a facelifted coupe version referred to as the Z600 or Z Coupe withinside the early ’70s with minor trim differences. The Z Coupe had a $1,630 base fee whilst a Ford Maverick commenced at $1,995. Honda simplest offered 25,000 N600s and Z600s from 1967 to 1972, however the car paved the manner for the automaker’s lengthy records of achievement withinside the American market.
The ancient importance of this car own circle of relatives method all properly-preserved originals or restorations are regarded upon with appreciation with the aid of using vehicle creditors and museum curators alike. Imagine the marvel and pleasure one such collector felt in 2010 whilst he found out he’d bought now no longer simply an early model of this car, however the first actual N600 off Honda’s meeting line.
The first Honda N600 is in a museum
According to Motor Trend, famous N600 restorer Tim Mings discovered a used Honda N600 on a trailer on the Pomona Antique Auto Swap Meet in 2007. He left his card at the windshield with a be aware telling the proprietor to provide him a call, unaware that the tattered little sedan at the trailer become the first actual of its kind, whole with VIN wide variety N600-100001. Mings sold the auto for the hubcaps and left it sitting untouched for 3 years earlier than coming across he had the primary Honda car imported to America.
Mings spent extra than a yr restoring the car to its authentic glory earlier than it become placed on show at Honda’s U.S. museum with the name N600 Serial One. The car is presently on show on the Petersen Automotive Museum in which it become lately proven subsequent to the Baja N600, additionally acknowledged as “American Honda’s first race vehicle.” This become showed with the aid of using none apart from Ming himself in an Instagram submit on April 1, 2022.
If you would like to look this car up near and personal, you may want to buy tickets from the museum’s internet site and plan your go to in advance. The Petersen Automotive Museum is placed at 6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036. General admission tickets for adults for the museum are $17, whilst youngsters are admitted for $12, and seniors get in for $15. It’s viable the N600 will simplest be to be had for viewing withinside the museum’s Legends of the Vault room, which calls for its very own separate ticket.