24 Hours of Lemons racer with Saab power and oodles of clever tricks.
The 24 Hours of Lemons is the perfect breeding ground for bizarre and outlandish race cars, as Tuner Fan discovered firsthand at last month's Yokohama Arse-Freeze-Apalooza at Sonoma Raceway. However, among the multitude of odd four-wheeled creations we encountered, this rusty Honda N600 stood apart, rocking custom widebody fender flares, active aero, and a full Saab powertrain swap. And while all that might sound expensive, the builders found a way to keep it within the $500 budget outlined by the 24 Hours of Lemons rulebook.
Developed, built, and driven by Team Apathy Racing, this 1971 Honda N600 kei car is now lovingly referred to as "Saanda," with roughly 30 Lemons events notched on its belt thus far.
Tuner Fan spoke with Scott Graves, head honcho at Team Apathy, who built the Saanda Honda N600 in 2012 over the course of a year and a half. When he isn't racing, Graves works as an engineering manager at Tesla, which explains all the clever tricks that this car brings to the party.
The creativity starts with the powertrain. Motivating the Saanda Honda N600 is a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder plucked from a Saab 900, as well as a Saab 900 transmission, with the entire front-wheel drive transaxle shoehorned into the rear of the vehicle.
"That car is kind of weird," Graves tells Tuner Fan, referencing the Saab 900. "The accessory belts are up against the firewall in that front-wheel drive car, so we just transplanted the whole thing into the back, so it still spins in the same orientation."
Output ratings for the donor Saab 900 were originally about 175 horsepower, which makes for a decent punch in the 2,180-pound Saanda Honda N600.
Notably, the Honda N600's 78.7-inch wheelbase doesn't meet Lemons' 82-inch minimum, but because Saanda was under construction prior to the rule change, it was grandfathered in.
With its short wheelbase, low weight, and rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, there's no doubt this thing is an absolute blast to drive at speed. It also looks impressive, with a purposeful, oxidized style that's hard to miss, especially with its ultra-wide "Ikea blanket" fender flares.
As Graves explains, Team Apathy made the Saanda Honda N600's fenders by stretching Ikea baby blankets into the desired shape, then applying a layer of fiberglass resin on top, resulting in simple, cheap, and highly replaceable custom body parts.
"When a Honda gets too close to us, or a BMW, we put another blanket on it and slap on some more polyester resin, and we have a replacement fender," Graves tells Tuner Fan.
The rear aero is another noteworthy feature of this Honda N600 racer. Built from model airplane parts, the wing incorporates an active element that lowers the blade in conjunction with the brake light switch, presumably increasing downforce when diving into a corner. When the engine hits boost, such as on a straight, the blade flips back up, decreasing drag.
All told, the Saanda Honda N600 stays true to the spirit of the 24 Hours of Lemons as a cheap, smart, and most importantly, fun race car.
"Engineers need a creative release," Graves tells Tuner Fan. "It's like art in a way."
We agree. There's a certain appeal to the Saanda Honda N600, with a functional, practical aesthetic all its own. We'll just call it the prettiest rust bucket.
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