Publication: Auto Sport
Format: Auto Sport Impression
Date: April 1969
Author: Juichi Inoue

The F-1 Mechanism Hidden In A Sedan

A quiet but powerful air-cooled engine and a hard clutch. Outstanding acceleration and high-speed stability. Even when the Honda 1300’s redline was exceeded in each gear, the engine was unperturbed, and the car responded like a rabbit…

“We will create a passenger car that will astound the world,” Honda Motor Co. President Soichiro Honda declared even before the announcement of the Honda 1300. And when the Honda 1300, equipped with a groundbreaking “integral double-structure” air-cooled engine, was announced at the 15th Tokyo Motor Show last fall, it certainly attracted a great deal of attention, both at home and abroad.

Publication: Car Graphic
Format: Road Test
Date: February 1970
Author: “C/G Test Group” (uncredited)

Summary: Air-cooled four-cylinder, powerful, smooth up to 8000rpm, low noise level even at high revolutions, power performance comparable to a 1600cc GT, poor fuel economy, unsettled handling a cause for concern, unsatisfactory heater and demister.

Road testing the Honda 1300 77 Deluxe

Few cars have been as controversial in recent years as the Honda 1300. Technically, it is an ambitious design that features a powerful, double-wall air-cooled, dry-sump lubricated four-cylinder engine, mounted transversely and driving the front wheels, following in the footsteps of the ill-fated Honda F1 racing car, the RA302, and has attracted the attention of engineers both in Japan and abroad. However, for the first two or three months after its release on April 15 last year, the Honda 1300 was rarely seen on the streets. At the time, the automotive world was abuzz with the issue of defective Honda cars, and dark rumors were circulating that the 1300 might also be caught up in the scandal. (In reality, it was said that the measures to deal with the “defects” in the N360 had disrupted the production plans for the 1300, as the design staff and factory personnel were temporarily diverted to that role.)

Publication: Auto Sport
Format: Road Impression
Date: March 1970
Author: Yoshimasa Sugawara, Auto Sport Editorial Staff (uncredited)

The Honda 1300 Coupe 9 has just been released, with an aerodynamic body born from wind tunnel testing and a high-power, high-speed 110 horsepower engine. Yoshimasa Sugawara, an expert on front-wheel drive cars, took it for a test drive.

High-Powered FF Car

(Sugawara): I am a man fascinated by FF cars. That said, I didn’t start off racing in them. I raced a Honda S500 until I switched to a Mini Cooper in 1967, and was completely satisfied with the S500. In the All Japan Racing Drivers’ Championship T-1 class, I raced against 1300cc Contessa Coupes and other cars in the 800-1200cc class, and was able to get quite close to my opponents despite the difference in displacement.

Publication: Car Graphic
Format: Road Test
Date: April 1970
Author: “C/G Test Group” (uncredited)

Summary: A highly practical five-seater coupe based on the 1300 sedan. Roominess not inferior to the sedan. Air-cooled engine with four carburetors. Exceptional power. Stiffer unibody construction and suspension than the sedan, chassis finally catching up with the engine. Maneuverability significantly improved over the sedan.

Road testing the Honda 1300 Coupe 9S

Publication: Motor Fan
Format: Dynamic Test Drive
Date: May 1970
Author: Shigeki Asaoka, Noriko Asaoka, Motor Fan Editorial Staff (uncredited)

Honda 1300 Coupe 9: Full of Frontier Spirit

The “Dynamic Test Drive” series has been well-received by readers, and is now in its fifth installment. The car model this time was decided to be Honda’s 1300 Coupe 9, and just as everyone was getting excited to start the test the next day, our protagonist, Shintaro Taki, ruptured his Achilles tendon. Our editorial team scrambled to find a replacement, and we were finally able to ask one of the racing world’s most prominent theoreticians, Shigeki Asaoka. We hope to see Taki return once he’s recovered, but this time we asked Shigeki Asaoka and his wife to test drive the Honda Coupe 9.

Publication: Motor Fan
Format: Road Test
Date: July 1970
Author: Ryozo Mabuchi, Torao Hattori, Akiro Irikoshi, Osamu Hirao, Kenji Higuchi, Hiroshi Okazaki, Atsushi Watari, Hiroshi Hoshijima, Kunitaka Furutani, Taizo Tateishi, Masahide Sano, Yasuhei Koguchi, Yasushi Saito, Kiyoshi Mori, Kenzaburo Ishikawa, Toshihide Hirata, Minoru Onda, Motor Fan Editorial Staff (uncredited)

Style For Young People

Magazine:This time, we will present our road test of the Honda 1300 Coupe 9 and 7 automatic models. First, we would like to ask Mr. Mabuchi about the aim of the Honda 1300 Coupe.