Making things, as anyone who has hefted a hammer or chisel or paintbrush or one of those little Allen head wrenches from Ikea, is hard. But it’s worth it, I think. And while some remarkable works of art and incredible machines have been the result of a lone individual, it seems that working in groups, with people who have specialized skills, often gives the best results. When Honda began to build cars in the 1960s, they found that there were certain components that they simply didn’t know how to build. The wooden steering wheel of Honda’s charming sportscar, the S600, was one of those components.
Honda didn’t know how to build a wooden steering wheel, but they were able to find a company that did: Futabaya. Futabaya was Japan’s oldest tennis racquet maker, and specialized in wood rackets – so much so that they were slow to adopt newer plastic racquet designs, which contributed to their eventual demise. But they were certainly masters of making wooden rackets, and the complex wood-forming techniques required to make them.
As you can imagine, the ability to make a round wooden racquet head isn’t really all that different from making a round wooden steering wheel rim, which is why Honda picked them to make the steering wheel for the S600. I’ll admit, I didn’t know this fascinating bit of trivia until I saw this Insta post:
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It’s such a satisfying bit of information, isn’t it? An old tennis racket company, around since the 1920s, asked to make something similar to their core products, but significantly different in function, if not form. Eventually, these multi-part wheels were found to be too expensive to build, and a plastic, one-piece wheel was designed to replace it. I get why Honda decided to do that, but that doesn’t mean I like it.
Look how great those Futabaya wheels looked!
What I do like are these old brochures and ads that Honda made for the S600, which had some beautiful illustrations:
Look at this one; it’s a beautiful example of mid-’60s advertising rendering and illustration. The cars are rendered beautifully and very naturalistically, while the people are very stylized, flattened and graphical, with bold patterns. It’s so good.
Also fun but at the opposite extreme is this page of cartoon-like drawings referencing specific qualities of the S600:
These have that certain loose, loopy quality of a lot of ’60s cartoons, a sort of comical awkwardness that has a lot of charm. They’re a little weird, too. Let’s look closer. Computer! Enhance, um, a few of these!
These are kind of weird choices for some of these captions. For example, the big lady with the little mustachio’d dude riding in her cleavage is captioned with a note that the car makes a ravenous 57 horsepower; the chef with all the plates is illustrating that the S600 doesn’t nosedive under hard braking; the dead bear one is showing the angle the car can climb, and the one with the camera following that bird notes that with the passenger seat removed, you can shove more cargo in the car.
Speaking of cargo, Honda was a little delusional when it came to the coupé version’s utility. Look at the copy under the picture on the right: Honda is suggesting, I suspect playfully, that an S600 fastback coupé can replace a commercial van and small truck, which is, of course, hilarious. I also like how the copy under the left picture of the interior notes that you can load “quite ordinary commercial goods or your most cherished posessions,” a feature normally only found on any car ever or, perhaps, any cardboard box.
These things also seemed to have a nice trouble light with a long cord! Look at it dangling there under the hood! Also, someone seems to have left the car in reverse.
You know what else is cool about the S600? It had a chain drive! This is a good reminder that Honda’s experience at this time was primarily in motorcycles. These cars had incredible little 606cc inline-four engines with four carbs that would rev to over 9,300 RPM, thanks to needle roller bearings. Many other cars of this era made similar power, but needed at least a liter more of displacement to do it. What an amazing little machine!
This is really only a surprise to those who know nothing about manufacturing. Fairly common for a company that is totally unrelated to an industry to be contacted to see if they would quote on producing X product.
We used to manufacture some parts for various car companies even though we aren’t otherwise in that industry at all. These are non-typical parts used in a few car models, but they are made in a material we work with exclusively.
“For example, the big lady with the little mustachio’d dude riding in her cleavage is captioned with a note”
HEY BUDDY! MY EYE IS UP HERE!
I test drove a convertible 30 years ago. These ads matched the attitude of the car precisely. Perfectly balanced engine, clown car size, friendly face, and endless fun to rev-up and rev-match down (no synchro on 1st.) What did you say they’re worth now?! More than the $5K my seller was asking at the time, I guess. Even back then, I wished I had storage space.
I can’t put my finger on the name, but those cartoons are either the work, or a good copy of a well-known cartoonist of the time.
The world needs more wooden steering wheels with banjo spokes.
I always think these and the S800 are lovely looking cars. 🙂
PS: just a note to all Autopian writers: it’d be nice if various vids/clips/pix in your articles were actually mirrored/hosted on Autopian’s own server, so everyone can see them. Not all of us have (or care to have) separate accounts on Instagram, Facebook, etc… so some Autopian articles display without the externally-attached items. Also, even if a member/reader does have the external accounts necessary to see attached content, over time, external links die and that means everyone reading the Autopian article a few years later will experience missing content.
Nit pick, but I’m pretty sure wooden racquets were replaced with metal ones (aluminum, IIRC). I’m sure they make carbon fiber ones these days which could technically be called plastic, but I doubt that’s the thing that killed Futabaya.
Yup, first steel, then aluminum, then graphite, then carbon fiber.
https://racquets.tennisfame.com/metal-composite/jimmy-connors
Not really. Wood stayed relevant till mid 70s. By that time metal and different composite material (including graphite) started being competitive with wood although they had different characteristics. But until the mid-80s when graphite won, there wasn’t a clear winner.
But agree, although there were racket in plastic in that era and, given the amount epoxy in graphite and carbon fiber racquets, plastic is not wrong, I wouldn’t say plastic killed wood racquets .
Man those cartoon drawings are fun. The little details are nice; for instance, on the one you ENHANCED with the cameraman in the back, he has one leg on the rear deck lid to stabilize himself. The artist could’ve easily drawn two legs going to the seats, but thought “naw, he wouldn’t be stable that way.”
The spokes on that Honda steering wheel look a lot like the ones on the 71 TR-6 I used to own.
What a fun brochure!
Some of the illustrations have a Jay Ward Productions/Bullwinkle and Rocky vibe to them. I see a little Boris Badenov in the guy getting a neck massage in possibly the nicest way. Although Natasha Fatale is certainly more attractive.
I have a Dunlop Maxply Fort tennis racket hanging on my wall. A bit of nostalgia from when my body didn’t threaten to disassemble itself when I played tennis. The woodwork on that frame is exquisite. I worked at a ski and tennis shop in late high school and sold and strung rackets. I could probably still string one if asked.
Anyway, Just look at it!
Dunlop Tennis Racquet “Maxply Fort” Wood Medium Grip 4 5/8 Made England W/Cover | eBay
“Catgut is best. But pre-1975, there is no cat. What, then, will you gut?”
–Basho, 1683
When I was stringing rackets back in 1974-75, it was actually lamb gut, but still called cat gut.
Same with gut strings for musical instruments. Called “catgut,” but came from sheep intestines, if I remember correctly. Currently nylon is the normal material.
Cat’s got your pun.
I’ve never seen an S600 Coupe before and now I want one. Kinda the same feeling I had when I fell for the Spitfire, then saw a GT6. As a result, there’s one in my garage. And now I’m wondering if I can squeeze another tiny car in there.
Man, there is nothing better than a large-diameter wood steering wheel in an old European car. I put a 15″ Nardi in my Mercedes w123 and it was awesome. I polished the spokes. It totally elevated the interior over the ugly black stock wheel.
Modern day: “What the hell is that racket?”
“Neighbor’s Honda.”
Exhaust brought to you by Folger’s Special Dark
The best part of waking up is (extended sound effect gag reel of flatulence noises)
…oh, and the car’s tailpipe too, I guess
And here I was thinking those rackets perhaps used one continuous piece of stout string, like Accord.
That’s a lot of string to supply the assembly line. Where would you Pilot all? It would be pretty Odyssey all that junk sitting around the production floor.
A prelude to quite the ruckus, I imagine.
I’m sure they have a spot where it’ll Fit.
As long as the workers keep it all Insight.
Before the large headed rackets, it was about 33 feet of string. Usually in two pieces. IIRC.
One of my favorite things is receiving an actually cool and informative response to a dumb joke post I make. Genuinely cool info.
He’s really in his Element when it comes to information about rackets.
E… it was a fresh new Insight, a good way to Jazz up the thread.
He really earned his Goldwings.
What a Legend, as the Brits would say.
the puns have been Elevated to higher levels
you must have felt quite Amazed by that response.
This article had me looking at Futabaya rackets on ebay and I don’t even play tennis. My employer would be so proud.
I love that steering wheel. It’s an absolute ace. I can’t find a fault. I’d drive one if they would let. Definitely a car I would court, even if it makes a racket. I see everything about this as a net gain. If I’m going to rate it? Ten-is the number. I’d even take a set so I’d at least have a match. I’m game. I wonder when their store will have it’s US open. I’ll keep my eye out for that victory on my WinBulletin.
I’ll stop now. Honest. I’ve served up enough.
I’d love to volley a pun back at you, but I think you got them all.
BTW, it’s interesting that even though a tennis racket maker built the steering wheel, none of the various activities depicted in the ads have anything to do with tennis.
The only feeling I can feel for these puns is love.
No airbag, so it might be an issue if you have a grand slam.
Fun coupe fact- they are within 50lbs of the convertible!
Since the S600 weighed less than 1600 pounds, 57 horses were probably enough. Especially when, according to some reports back in the day, the trailing-arm (via the chain cases) rear suspension led to somewhat quirky handling when the driver really got up on that Futabaya.
I don’t care. I want one. I’ve seen all of three of them — roadsters only, alas — since Honda never offered them here, but they were cute, zippy little toys.
I never realized they made a S600 Coupe, I’ve only ever seen ragtops. What a great looking little car. Too bad they are going for $30 grand on BaT. Another abscure car I’d love to have that will never be able to afford. Everytime I see a small, obscure classic that appeals to me (ie: something that not everyone already has) that I think might be a good way to get into classic car ownership, I realize that enough other people with more money than me already had the same idea.
From the alternating between racquet and racket, I can only assume Futabaya was a front for the Yakuza.