In the U.S., there's really only one fun, lightweight, affordable sports car-the MX-5. However, if that sort of well-rounded response doesn't tickle your fancy, this Honda Beat might just do the trick.

Introduced in 1991, Honda built the Beat at the same time it launched its other tiny sports cars of the late 20th century; these also included the Suzuki Cappuccino and Mazda's gullwing door AutoZam AZ-1. While drawing inspiration for its layout from upscale models, such as the NSX, the Beat uses a rear mid-engine, rear-drive layout, which ultimately made it fit into kei car regulations as a miniature version of the supercar. Production ran until early 1996, with roughly 33,600 examples built.

Finished in bright Yellow Pearl, this small droptop Kei car has been imported to the U.S., currently titled in South Dakota. With a width of only a little over 4 feet, an MX-5 looks truly full-size, as well as vastly more powerful. The Beat returns the favor by being virtually weightless, and garnering a surprising amount of stares on its own; you could spend a lifetime finding attention, but few things grab it like driving a tiny sports car down an interstate directly next to a Ford F-150.

Underneath all this, the mid-engined 656cc triple cylinder develops 63 hp (47kW), and 44 lb-ft (60Nm) of torque, which then powers the rear wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. The NSX had 270 hp and went up to 160 mph (257 km/h), but the Beat will hit 84 mph (135 km/h) before running out of room; considering its power, its curb weight also makes it only 1,300 lbs (590 kg) lighter. Fuel consumption numbers of 45 mpg or 5.2 l/100km are a metric no NSX owner ever gets to brag about.

This car is a slightly modified 1991 Honda Beat, with 15-inch alloy wheels from a Honda Fit, an aftermarket exhaust, and intake system, a rear luggage rack and an aftermarket steering wheel. The odometer reads 95,400km or 59,300 miles (600,000 km + miles). Mileage is fairly light compared to other cars of this vintage and production year.

Unfortunately this is far from being an off-the-showroom floor stock example. According to the listing on Cars & Bids, the exterior shows some age, with some blemishes including a dent on the passenger side quarter panel, and a tear in the soft top. The interior also shows many signs of use with wear visible on the seats, and numerous interior panels, and to cap it off the AC is inoperative; not even the tachometer, radio screen, nor the power passenger window work!

Despite all this lack of comfort or outright speed, if you just thought there wouldn't be much fun out of driving this small roadster, and a high-revving engine doesn't excite you, the individual throttle bodies used on the small engine allow the Honda Beat to happily spin to 8,500 rpm, which gives the tiny three-cylinder an exciting amount of personality despite its power output. If you like what you've heard, and don't have any problem sitting on the right side of the road in a left-hand-drive car, you can see the full listing over on C&B HERE.

Written by

Tanu