April 11, 2009

Honda 1300

A little history

Until 1969, Honda remained confined to wheeled boxes and a few derivative coupes emitting bee-like screams from under the bonnet each time the accelerator pedal was pressed. In May that year, the Japanese company finally introduced a middle-range automobile, its 1300 saloon. The car was brilliant from a technical point of view, with a 1.3-litre engine cooled by forced air driving the front wheels, quite efficiently thanks to no less than 100 bhp in standard form, 116 bhp in its “99” variant. On the outside, the car looked nonetheless as daring as its bland name implied. The glamour Honda needed was brought by a coupe based on the 1300, which was released during 1970. The styling was both elegant and aggressive, though some regretted the overly beaked central section of the front end. The coupe received the same engines as the saloon, and was called either “7S” with the standard block or “9S” with its more potent version.

The 1300 saloons and “S” coupes were only built until late 1972, when the 145, generally similar except for a more conventional water-cooled engine, was launched, only to be retired two years later.

(This car’s history will be expanded in due time, please be patient.)

About the models

Unfortunately no scale model of the Honda 1300 saloon seems to exist (please correct me if I’m wrong), but at least Ebbro and Norev, among mainstream die-casts makers, have reproduced the coupe.

Model: Honda 1300 Coupe 9S
Year: 1970
Maker: Ebbro
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Ebbro, "Oldies" series ref. 43415
Acquired: brand new, in December 2006, in Hong Kong, S.A.R.

A very nice model, to which all my remarks regarding Ebbro’s Isuzu 117 apply. A special mention about the side windows, which are simply beautiful. This model certainly looks great. My rating: 14/20.

Note: I have a brand-new copy of this model that I'm disposing of. If interested, please contact me through e-mail (the address is in my Profile).

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Model: Honda 1300 Coupe 9S
Year: 1970
Maker: Ebbro
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Ebbro, "Oldies" series ref. 43512
Acquired: brand new, in December 2006, in Hong Kong, S.A.R.

Another 9S, this time with a gold metallic paint and a vinyl-covered roof. The car looks even better under this fancier guise, but honesty forces me to give it the same rate of 14/20 as the previous model.

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