1963 Honda S500 Tee - Honda Vintage Culture

Dreams & Challenges Collection: Commissioned by the world-renowned Honda Collection Hall in Japan, this exclusive collection celebrates the groundbreaking machines and innovations that shaped Honda—and changed transportation forever. Available at the museum, each piece allows enthusiasts to take home a lasting part of Honda's extraordinary legacy.

Introduced in 1963, the Honda S500 was Honda's first production automobile, marking the company's bold transition from the world's leading motorcycle manufacturer to a serious automotive innovator. Rather than taking the conventional path, Honda applied its motorcycle engineering expertise to create a lightweight, high-revving sports car powered by a sophisticated 531cc DOHC four-cylinder engine capable of nearly 9,000 rpm.

The S500 established the engineering philosophy that would define Honda for decades: advanced technology, exceptional efficiency, and the belief that small engines could deliver remarkable performance. It laid the foundation for iconic sports cars such as the NSX, S2000, and today's Civic Type R. The S500 proved that innovation—not size—could challenge the automotive establishment, earning its place as one of the most historically significant Japanese sports cars ever built.