Mie: Honda’s Debut 4-wheeler on Display

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:46 JST, August 5, 2023

SUZUKA, Mie — Honda Motor Co.’s first four-wheel automobile is making an appearance in the city where it was born.

The T360 mini-truck debuted in 1963 and was sold for about four years. Honda started in 1948 as a manufacturer of auxiliary engines for bicycles before making motorcycles.

Honda’s Suzuka plant in the city manufactured the parts for the body of the T360. To mark the 60th anniversary of the vehicle’s debut, Suzuka City Hall is displaying a T360 in its first-floor lobby through the end of November.

With a top speed of 100 kph, the T360 was referred to as a sports truck because its 30-horsepower, 354cc engine was usually installed on race cars at the time. Honda said the truck was mainly used for transporting goods within the Tokai region.

The vehicle on display is light blue and was manufactured in 1965. The round side-view mirrors attached to the hood and a pair of triangular windows on the doors show a style often found in early four-wheel vehicles.

“Automobiles are a core industry in this city,” Mayor Noriko Suematsu said. “We want to share with citizens the trajectory of the growth and development of the city.”