HONDA 1300 Coupe 1970-1973 Photos, engines & full specs

The 1300 Coupe was the last child built by Soichiro Honda, and it was made by his taste, not by the marketing department.

In the late '60s, Mr. Honda decided to attack the coupe market with the 1300 model, a vehicle he developed together with the engineering team. The result was an unusual car that screams at 7200 rpm and offers an impressive specific power output for that era.

The exterior look was charming, with four round headlights and a grille that suggested a bee. Some said that the inspiration for the front fascia was the Pontiac Firebird. The proportions were ¼ for the engine compartment, ¼ for the trunk, and the rest for the cabin. The A-pillars installed just behind the front wheels, and the C-pillars above the rear axle ensured a balanced look. The fastback look of the cabin was unusual for a Japanese vehicle.

Inside, Soichiro Honda insisted that the driver had to have all the information required. The instrument cluster, with its five dials, satisfied its request. The three-spoke steering wheel was inspired by race cars. It had room for four passengers, even though the space on the bench was not that great. But then, again, Soichiro Honda was not a tall man.

The engineers' biggest struggle was the engine, which featured two fans: one in the front and the other connected to the flywheel in the back. Thus, said Honda, the balance and the smoothness of a water-cooled engine were achieved. The 1300 was available with 1 Keihin carburetor and offered 100 hp, or four Keihin carburetors and offered 116 hp. It was mated to a 4-speed manual gearbox that sent the power to the front wheels in both versions.