Honda S660 Mugen 2015 Review

Better known internationally for building F1 engines – for the McLaren Honda F1 team – as well as race powertrains for Japan’s Super GT and Super Formula series, Mugen also dabbles in high-tech aeroparts and performance upgrades for Honda cars and minivans.

And it’s the Mugen S660 that we should be looking at closely for clues to the wide-bodied, performance-enhanced 1.0-litre turbo-powered S660 currently being developed for international markets including Australia, where it could be badged as the S1000.

However, unlike Toyota’s TRD or Nissan’s NISMO, which are direct subsidiaries of their respective parent companies, Mugen, which means ‘unlimited’ in Japanese, has never been owned by Honda.

Mugen can source Honda cars like the S660 and upcoming NSX for its line-up, but customers can only buy original Mugen parts -- not Mugen-tuned cars -- at Honda dealers.

Most of its parts are developed in conjunction with Honda’s concept cars at proving grounds. But Mugen’s policy is that it won't put its parts on sale until they are able to test their performance components on production cars in the real world.

So when Mugen set up a brief test drive in the real world at the Hakone Turnpike, 90 minutes south of Tokyo, we rolled up to check out this brand new addition to the growing Mugen line-up.

For Mugen, it’s been a long time between road cars. After creating Mugen-spec versions of the NSX, Civic, Accord and Odyssey in 2009, the last Honda model it worked on was the CR-Z RR Concept of 2012.

So the S660 landed in Mugen’s special projects bin not a moment too soon, especially when you consider that the tuner has already started work on a Mugen NSX.

So what does the Mugen S660 get? More bespoke parts than you could throw a stick at. Firstly the bonnet employs optimally placed air outlets to cool the engine while engineers used lightweight dry carbon and FRP side panels and boot to keep weight down.

It also has integrated front spoiler, side vents forward and aft of the front wheel arches to enhance air-flow through the wheel wells, improving brake performance, and a fixed rear wing replaces the retractable wing that deploys at 70km/h.

The Mugen S660 also employs bespoke lightweight alloys specially developed to fit the Yokohama Advan rubber. With ride height lowered by 10mm, the mini coupe also incorporates bespoke dampers and springs, performance brake pads and special Mugen slotted brake rotors.

Buyers also have a choice of a unique sports silencer fitted with either a carbon-fibre or titanium finisher.

And what about performance, we hear you ask? Japan has a unique law that stipulates all 660cc kei-cars cannot generate more than 47kW, even if they are the hottest machine in the genre.

The Mugen S660 therefore retains the same turbocharged 660cc engine powering the stock S660 with the identical 47kW output.

What’s different is the way the power is delivered. Mugen has fitted a bespoke six-speed manual gearbox with revised linkages and shorter throws and an even shorter gear shifter to enhance the driving experience.

We admit that 47kW seems like a meager power offering, but by channeling that limited power through those precision short throws, and keeping the engine spinning between 5000rpm and the 7000 redline, you can extract every ounce of performance out of this car, and corner faster than a new Mazda MX-5.

Where as the S660 was already a blast to drive, and cornered faster than any kei-car before it, the Mugen S660 jumps to the next dimension.

The stock coupe corners quickly but has a tendency for the rear-end to lean and lurch for a split second on turn-in until it stabilises in the corner, and relies heavily on its very grippy Advan Neova rubber.

The Mugen S660’s stiffer spring rates and less forgiving dampers might have taken ride quality in a harsher direction, but that ‘lurch’ on initial turn-in has gone, replaced by more precision turn-in and flatter cornering while the rear-end seems more in contact with what the front is doing.

And the revised gearbox with those shorter throws is reminiscent of the mighty S2000 six-speeder that offered the most precise and best gear action in its class.

Obviously overall brake feel and pedal rigidity has improved, thanks to the slotted rotors, but because initial brake feel now delivers more bite earlier, smaller foot inputs are required to regulate the car’s stopping power.

Inside, the Mugen S660 builds on where the S660 left off. The Mugen gets striped seat trim, bright red floor mats, Mugen emblems and of course that bespoke gear shifter.

Several colleagues agreed that the Mugen S660 has advanced Honda’s mini sports car line-up to such an extent, that the company really needs to think about more power. Indeed, a Japanese colleague who bought one of the first S660s back in April has already upgraded his ECU and exhaust system to create a kei-car that generates 60kW — up from the stock 47kW.

And that is where we see the international-spec S660 (rumoured to be called the S1000) going – more power and a wider body with a large input from Mugen.

An Aussie-spec car would sit on the same over-engineered platform as the base S660 but employ more aggressive aero parts, more power thanks to a 97 kW 1.0-litre turbo engine (that we tested in concept form and liked a lot 18 months ago in Japan) and a higher price tag somewhere north of $27,000.

Expect to see something land in showrooms by mid-2017.