Check out this boxy little flivver. It’s the Honda N/, which you’re meant to pronounce “N-Box Slash.” It’s an efficient little runabout that packs 10 pounds of retro style in a five-pound bag. And it’s never, ever coming to the U.S. market. Sorry. The N-Box Slash is the fifth model in Honda’s N-Series of kei cars, Japanese domestic-market subcompacts that enjoy tax breaks and urban parking perks in exchange for their postage-stamp size.
By law, kei cars are no more than 133.8 inches long, 58.2 inches wide, and 78.7 inches tall—in other words, they’ll fit in an 11-foot-by-5-foot parking space. Tiny size doesn’t mean absent of style, though—the N-Box Slash comes in retro flavors ranging from Fiat 500–style gumdrop pastels to the black and chrome aesthetic of a pint-size hot rod. Inside, buyers can choose colors that evoke a 1950s diner or the wood paneling from Ron Burgundy’s pad, with seats that fold flat enough for, uh, sleeping.
This rolling box of kitsch will likely be powered by the 0.6-liter turbo three-cylinder that motivates the rest of Honda’s N-Series microcars, according to Left Lane News. It goes on sale in Japan starting December 22. Aching for this retro style to come to North America? You’re out of luck. Maybe stick some dog-dish hubcaps on the box your refrigerator came in.
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