BRE Hino Samurai 1967

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kingofweasles
  • 7 comments
  • 4,748 views
Kingofweasles

Kingofweasles

Messages
1,421
United States
California
Messages
WeaselKing707
Messages
N/A
http://banovsky.kinja.com/the-forgotten-bre-hino-samurai-stands-alone-1569662867

Samurai-on-RT.jpeg



Hino%20Samurai_05.jpg




e27ede9214.jpg



3866094933.jpg



Designed by Peter Brock (Of Shelby Daytona Coupe fame) and assembled by the legendary Troutman-Barnes firm (Who were the builder's of Lance Reventlow's dominant Scarab-Chevrolets of the late 1950's and the Chaparral Mk.1), this futuristic-looking one-off was powered by a modified variant of the Hino Contessa's 1300cc Inline-4 Cylinder engine and was supposed to race at the 1967 Japanese Grand Prix for Sportscars (With Lemans on the horizon). However, the car was disqualified from that event due to a technical infringement and the president of the Hino Corporation suddenly passed away shortly thereafter, leading to the cancellation of the project and the ultimate sale of the comapny to Toyota (Which axed Hino's car division). This car DID compete in the SCCA for some time though, and is allegedly still somewhere in the United States of America, fully restored probably hiding in an anonymous collector's garage...

I'd also like to post more about the overall technical specifications this car, but none seem to be around anywhere online... But either way, ain't it purdy? :dopey:
 
-> Hino's only dedicated performance car. I hope Toyota has the only copy of this car in mint condition.
 
I could definitely see this car making it into GT, in some obscure little dealership with a rediculous price tag slapped on it.
 
-> I'm just bummed out that no one in the interwebs has the concrete specs on this gem!
 
Found more images and a bit more history on it, http://mycarquest.com/tag/hino-samurai, http://www.datsun.org/fairlady/BREHino.htm and also there seems to be a model kit of it as well, http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=67070 and http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=66428 .

Now for the images
a482653024-550x598.jpg

BrockSamuraismall-550x451.jpg

sem-t%C3%ADtulo1-388x700.jpg

SAMFAN.gif

SAMCOL2.gif


Edit: Got the specs,

Engine: 1293cc tuned Inline 4 engine, taken from the Hino Contessa 1300
Power Output: 110 hp
Torque: TBA
Weight: 1,170 pounds/530 kg
Transmission: 5-speed gearbox
Drivetrain: Mid mounted engine, Rear wheel drive car

Found the specs in the cool wall nomination thread look for the post by @Niku Driver HC, https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/read-the-op-gtp-cool-wall-nomination-thread.282393/page-54
 
Last edited:
CORRUPTEDDISC
I could definitely see this car making it into GT, in some obscure little dealership with a rediculous price tag slapped on it.
Click to expand...

Heh. The only problems would be scanning the original car (this could be really hard if there are no surviving specimens, and AFAIK only one or two cars were ever built) and licensing (as Hino was bought by Toyota which did everything they could to kill off the brand; sure, they could drop it in a ad-hoc BRE or Troutman-Barnes dealer, but I'm not sure that would be an effective workaround and PD would be willing to risk souring their relationship with Toyota over an obscure late 60s racer).

It would be awesome to drive the Samurai around Fuji or Suzuka.
 

Latest Posts

Back