Honda's Mid-Engined Kei Car Is The Roadster We've Always Wanted

This is the brilliant Honda S660 Concept, the spiritual successor to the iconic Honda Beat. Aimed at the Japanese Kei car market, the roadster gets a 660cc engine.

It's powered by a mid-mounted three-cylinder turbocharged engine, driven through a seven-speed gearbox operated by paddle shifters. Its dimensions are miniature. A Kei car must be less than 3.4 metres long and 1.49 metres wide (to give a little perspective, the original Mazda MX5 is a comparatively massive 3.9 metres long) with an engine capacity of no more than 660cc.

Despite only being sold in Japan, the S660 could make its way to other markets. When pushed on the subject, Honda senior designer Ryo Sugiura said “I cannot tell you if it will or will not. It’s a secret. The car would certainly need some re-engineering.” So that's not a no...

Rumour has it that the engine bay could take the 105bhp, 1-litre turbo three-pot recently announced by Honda. Imagine that engine in a small roadster designed 'to deliver nimble and dynamic driving

outstanding stability'. Want.

The S660 will go on sale in Japan in 2015. If we pester Honda enough, maybe we can have a stunning entry-level sports car by 2016. We're already huge fans of kei cars, so make it manual and Honda has our money...