The first Honda Life ran an air-cooled engine borrowed straight from Honda’s CB450 motorcycle, not a car-bred unit.
Lead trim: 356 cc EA twin · up to 36 hp
Honda Life SA / VA / WASA/VA/WA · 1971–1974
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Honda Life SA / VA / WA yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe first Honda Life ran an air-cooled engine borrowed straight from Honda’s CB450 motorcycle, not a car-bred unit.
Honda's first Life, replacing the N III 360: a two- or four-door sedan and a three-door wagon (also sold as a van), with a water-cooled 356 cc EA twin. Honda's target was a kei car as habitable as a period 1-litre car, and the wheelbase was 8 cm longer than its predecessor's. The 1972 Touring range added a twin-carburettor engine.
Collectors Spotted in the Honda Life Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Honda Life yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 356 cc EA twin | 1971–1974 | 0.4 L Inline-2 | 30 hp | — | — | FWD | — | — |
| Touring GS twin-carburettor | 1972–1974 | 0.4 L Inline-2 | 36 hp | — | — | FWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Honda shed about 40 kg from this Life despite making it 35 mm taller than the model it replaced.
The fourth Life's round door handles, easy to grip from any direction, were said to be modelled on an ice cream spoon.
Forbes once listed the turbocharged Life Dunk among the weirdest car names ever given to a production car.
This Life was already a stopgap when it launched: rebodied from the Honda Today just to answer the Wagon R craze, it was built for only about a year and a half, making it a genuinely rare find today.
The first Honda Life ran an air-cooled engine borrowed straight from Honda’s CB450 motorcycle, not a car-bred unit.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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