Honda N600 to join retro comeback craze

Revealed by LeftLaneNews, the as-yet-unnamed hatchback draws inspiration from the tiny N600 of the late 1960s/early 1970s (pictured below), following in the footsteps of the Volkswagen Beetle, the Mini Cooper and the Fiat 500 in giving new life to an old favourite.

The reborn micro car has been more than three years in the making. It was initially previewed at the 2009 Tokyo motor show in the form of the compact, three-door electric Honda EV-N concept, and then again at last year’s Tokyo show as the internal combustion-engined, near-production-ready Honda N Concept 4.

Although the original N600 was exported to Europe and the US, the new version will be confined to Japan and a small number of neighbouring markets.

Having been designed specifically to meet Japan’s kei car regulations, the front-wheel-drive city car will have a 660cc with no more than 48kW of power and total vehicle length and width no greater than 3378mm and 1472mm respectively.

The reborn N600 is expected to be unveiled before the end of this year, with sales tipped to start in 2013.