This is the #25 Honda Racing Service Center Honda S800 RSC. Designed by Yoshio Nakamura, the S800 was Honda's third production sports car following its predecessors, the S500 and S600; the car also continued the advanced technology of its predecessors.
Introduced at the 1965 Tokyo Motor Show, the S800 was powered by a 0.8L inline-4 making 70 horsepower, mated to a 4-speed synchromesh manual; the car was available as both a coupe and a convertible. Its high-revving engine (10,000 rpm) allowed the car a top speed of 100 mph (160 km/h) and led it to be described as the fastest 1-liter sports car in the world. Designed mainly for export, the S800 began production at Honda's Suzuka plant in 1966; early examples feature chain drive and independent suspension before later switching to a conventional drive shaft and a live axle rear end with four radius rods and a Panhard rod.
The S800 was made available in the United Kingdom in 1967; the car was intended to compete against cars like the Triumph Spitfire, Datsun Sports, MG Midget and Fiat 850 and was sometimes cheaper than them in those markets. In 1968 the S800M was introduced, giving the car exterior side marker lights and other changes; the car was supposed to be marketed in the United States but it was never officially exported there. Production ended in 1970 with 11,536 produced.
The S800 was also taken racing, with one such car, the #25, prepped by the Honda Racing Service Center (RSC) and raced at the 1968 12 Hours of Suzuka. Equipped with an enlarged 0.9L inline-4, the car made "over 100 BHP" and was driven by Kuniomi Nagamatsu and Yoshifuki Kikura in the GT-1 class, which it won. The car is now on display at the Honda Collection Hall.
Now this casting was designed by Fraser Campbell and introduced in 2024 in the HW Race Day segment of the mainline. This is currently its only release.
