Lot Ended
Description
2000 Honda Insight
Ex-Japan; only 91,700 kms
indicated (57k miles); excellent example of this pioneering hybrid; investment
alert!
Honda were well-ahead of the curve in 1999 when they
launched the first-generation Insight. World-beating drag-coefficient of 0.25CD?
Check. Lightweight aluminium and plastic structure? Check. Hybrid technology
giving 70mpg? Check. Knight Rider meets Casio calculator dashboard? Check.
Bristling with technical innovations, the Insight had a
995cc three-cylinder lean burn petrol engine producing 67bhp and made from
lightweight aluminium, magnesium and plastic. Allied to this was Honda’s
ingenious IMA hybrid technology (Integrated Motor Assist), an ultra-thin (60mm)
10kw electric motor located on the crankshaft which adds another 13bhp and 36
lb/ft of torque when called on. It also acts as the starter motor and as a
generator during deceleration and braking to recharge the vehicle’s NiMH battery
packs.
The Continuously Variable Transmission is equally clever,
determining the optimal gearing from an infinite spread of ratios with a
computer control module automatically regulating how much power comes from the
petrol engine and how much from the electric motor. A sport mode is also
available via a button on the steering wheel.
Expensive to manufacture and expensive to buy, the first
generation Insight was conceived as a real-world test car for the hybrid
technology that we now take for granted some 20 years later. Only 17,000 were
made in total from 1999 – 2006 (of which only 200 officially came to the UK) and
it is considered such a ground-breaking design that classic status is already
assured. Better still, it has Honda’s legendary reliability and should the NiMH
battery packs ever fail, superior replacements are now widely available from
multiple sources.
This Insight dates from 2000 and was imported from Japan
in 2016 at which point it had covered 82,500 kms (51,200 miles). It now shows
91,700 kms (57k miles) and appears to in excellent condition throughout with an
MOT until January 2021 with no advisories recorded. There are also four old
MOTs on file (all without advisories) plus a user guide to the car’s aftermarket
audio and video navigation system and a Honda NAVI unit update kit on CD.
Starting instantly and performing amazingly well as we
queued up to whizz it around the yard at Brightwells, this featherweight marvel
is an absolute hoot to drive. Already collectable, the Insight becomes only more
relevant as fuel prices (and sea levels) rise. Get one while you can and dare to
be different!
For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or
email [email protected]
* All charges are subject to VAT