Production chronology1991–1996
Sourced production or model lifecycle range used by the main catalog timeline.
Wikipedia lead ↗6 years
← Honda
Honda / Model record
HondaBeat
Production1991–1996
Recorded originJapan
ClassKei car
Power64 hp
Built33,600 units
Background
The Honda Beat is a kei car produced by the Japanese company Honda from May 1991 until February 1996. It is a two-seater roadster with a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. It was the last car to be approved by Soichiro Honda, before he died in 1991. In total around 33,600 were made, with roughly two-thirds of these built in the first year of production. The design of the car originated from Pininfarina, who then sold the design plan to Honda. The Honda Beat was one of many cars designed to take advantage of Japan's tax-efficient kei car class.
Text adapted from “Honda Beat” on Wikipedia ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗ · retrieved 2026-07
Chronology ledger
Dates with their meaning intact
Netherlands RDW first-admission observations1991–1993
First-admission years observed in Dutch vehicle registrations; this is market evidence, not a worldwide production range.
Netherlands RDW ↗3 years
Research notes
Two-seat rear mid-engine kei car roadster sold only in Japan through Honda Primo dealers. First kei car with four-wheel disc brakes; top speed limited to 135 km/h per the kei-car gentlemen's agreement. Competed with the Suzuki Cappuccino and Autozam AZ-1; succeeded years later by the Honda S660.