Nicest One Left? 16k-Mile 1972 Honda Z600

Who remembers the Honda Z600 (and the boxier N600) from the early 1970s? They were Kei cars (pint-size) built in Japan and sold in the U.S. for half of their duration (1970 to 1972). If you wanted one, you could get your Honda motorcycle dealer to order it, and the Z600 was likely the smallest automobile on American roads at the time. The seller has a completely original survivor with less than 16,000 miles. Located in a garage in Hartland, Wisconsin, it could be the nicest one left and is available here on Facebook Marketplace for (hold on to your hats) $60,000. You can thank “Zappenduster” for this tiny tip!

The Z600 (aka Honda Z) was a crackerbox hatchback that Honda had on the home market through 1974. Perhaps 40,000+ units were built, with the number exported to the U.S. unknown. All U.S. Z600s got a larger engine than on the home market, a 598cc 2-cylinder thumper. Exports to these shores stopped before the 1973 models came out because their itty-bitty bumpers weren’t up to meeting U.S. safety standards.

A receipt from 1972 shows that the current or previous owner bought the car for $800 (new or used?). Perhaps someone thought the auto would be potentially worth 75 times that 54 years later, so more or less quit driving it before the odometer reached 16k. The little car seems to be in excellent condition, but the photos are mostly of close-ups and not of the full car. If it runs, why not drive it out into the light of day for pics?

These were disposable cars, so finding one in this shape is a matter of luck. The seller postulates it’s the lowest mileage example left in the States, and he could be right. While it’s well documented, some explanations of its health are needed to warrant a serious inquiry at the seller’s price point. As a running museum piece, what’s the top dollar you’d fork over for this early foray of the Honda imports?