GTP Cool Wall: 1965-1967 Hino Contessa 1300 Coupe

1965-1967 Hino Contessa 1300 Coupe

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GranTurismo916

GranTurismo916

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United States
Orange County, NY
GTP_GT916
Nii916
1965-1967 Hino Contessa 1300 Coupe nominated by @Niku Driver HC
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Engines: 1.3L I4 (GR100)
Power: 64 hp
Torque: 72 lb-ft.
Weight: 945 kg
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Drivetrain: Rear engine, rear wheel drive
Body Styles: 2-door coupe
Additional Info: "The coupe variant of the second generation Hino Contessa, and one of Hino's last road cars before the brand's purchase by Toyota, which in turn led to Hino shifting their focus towards truck manufacturing. Design comes from Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti, also responsible for the Triumph Herald and Stag, along many others. In racing, Australian driver Pete "King of the Mountain" Brock sucessfully raced a 1300 Coupe towards a victory in the Mission Bell 100, at the Riverside Raceway in North America. Teammate Bob Durham followed suit in 2nd place, giving the BRE Hino Coupes a 1-2 victory. The 1300 Coupe's engine was then used for Brock's Hino prototype, my first Cool Wall nomination, the BRE Hino Samurai."​
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Mad front camber yo.

Anyway, the car. I dunno, it looks sort of like something from the Eastern Bloc, yet still strangely period Japanese at the same time (I suspect those fender-mounted mirrors are to blame). That said, its from a manufacturer most people would probably gloss over, has some degree of racing pedigree and would no doubt turn heads in a positive way. Also has a whiff of Isuzu 117 Coupe as well.

...screw it. It's cool. In terms of classic Japanese cars, anyone who's chosen of these over something like an older Skyline, early Celica or Datsun of some description clearly has a lot more imagination. Even then, classic JDM cars are a niche enough vehicle choice as it is.
 
INEEDNAWZZZ
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Mad front camber yo.

Anyway, the car. I dunno, it looks sort of like something from the Eastern Bloc, yet still strangely period Japanese at the same time (I suspect those fender-mounted mirrors are to blame). That said, its from a manufacturer most people would probably gloss over, has some degree of racing pedigree and would no doubt turn heads in a positive way. Also has a whiff of Isuzu 117 Coupe as well.

...screw it. It's cool. In terms of classic Japanese cars, anyone who's chosen of these over something like an older Skyline, early Celica or Datsun of some description clearly has a lot more imagination. Even then, classic JDM cars are a niche enough vehicle choice as it is.
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You make an interesting comparison, with the "Eastern Bloc" reference. But I see what you mean; the car does feel like it could be labled as a GAZ or a Volga in Russia and almost no one would tell the difference. And yet at the same time, due to the detail of the front mirrors, you can still see hints of vintage Japanese cars in the Contessa. I guess that is part of the quirks of being a Japanese car designed by an Italian. Still, it's an imaginative (albeit somewhat rare) choice for a classic JDM car, if you are so inclined.

I also like to see this Contessa Coupe as a well-built, likeable Japanese Chevy Corvair; it's quirky and it has a well-thought out design, but it isn't unsafe at any speeds (see what I did there?) either. Yes, you'll probably have to explain why is it called a Hino to other people, and why didn't Hino build more of them, but it's still a nice head-turner.
 
Niku Driver HC
the car does feel like it could be labled as a GAZ or a Volga in Russia and almost no one would tell the difference.
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Nah, for that the car would need to have the massive grille in the front, not in the back! :lol:
Well, that, along with four-doors and a silver thing on the c-pillar
 
CSMDuty11
Nah, for that the car would need to have the massive grille in the front, not in the back! :lol:
Well, that, along with four-doors and a silver thing on the c-pillar
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Well, I did say that "almost no one would tell the difference", after all. Knowledgeable people such as yourself, who know Russian cars well, can spot the differences... ;)
 
Niku Driver HC
I also like to see this Contessa Coupe as a Japanese Chevy Corvair
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This is my problem with it. I can't stand the Corvair (and no not just because I worked on the Nader campaign in 2000! :lol:) For me it's the styling, the front end, the shape of the headlight frame, the proportions are odd with the cabin pushed forwards to allow for the engine in the back.

Since I'm a Japanese fanboy, it gets a meh instead of an uncool.
 
Probably the most blatant Corvair knockoff of all (should say it was designed by Ned Nickels more than it was Michelotti), but I'm torn because for nearly everything it does inferior to the original Corvair (to much front overhang in proportion to the body length; overly fussy detailing, especially from the rear) there is something it improves (ridding itself of fad-ish late 1950s GM greenhouse in favor of the BMW 1500 greenhouse, shortening the rear deck length).
 
Damn, would love one of these. Classy, quirky, pretty car with lots of interesting bits. Some similarities with the NSU Prinz TT, which was also an air-cooled RR.
 
When Michelotti gets the basic formula for a rear-engined, air-cooled coupe design just right...

Sub Zero.
 
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I don't think it's particularly pretty - the slightly cab-forward proportions look a bit off to me. Still, it's a quirky '60s coupe, so it's cool.
 
Niku Driver HC
I also like to see this Contessa Coupe as a well-built, likeable Japanese Chevy Corvair; it's quirky and it has a well-thought out design, but it isn't unsafe at any speeds (see what I did there?) either.
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Um, since the layout of the car and rear suspension is identical to the contemporary Beetle, Corvair and Renaults, it almost certainly was equally as unsafe. Granted, the greater power of the Corvair made 'jacking' easier, but most swing-axle rear suspension (as this car has) were very poorly set up.

You should read the subject matter about vehicle development in the late 60s - it was a fascinating time. Ralph Nader was being... well, strident about the handling foibles of rear-engined/swing-axle cars, but he was right, there was a fundamental design falw. The resources that GM then ploughed into handling & dynamics research and tyre development after those events form the basis of the 'modern' automobile.

Chapparal were one spin-off to benefit greatly from this tyre development work and aerodynamics was the logical next step and they did more successful and scientific research on that than F1 at the time.
 
Venari
Um, since the layout of the car and rear suspension is identical to the contemporary Beetle, Corvair and Renaults, it almost certainly was equally as unsafe. Granted, the greater power of the Corvair made 'jacking' easier, but most swing-axle rear suspension (as this car has) were very poorly set up.

You should read the subject matter about vehicle development in the late 60s - it was a fascinating time. Ralph Nader was being... well, strident about the handling foibles of rear-engined/swing-axle cars, but he was right, there was a fundamental design falw. The resources that GM then ploughed into handling & dynamics research and tyre development after those events form the basis of the 'modern' automobile.

Chapparal were one spin-off to benefit greatly from this tyre development work and aerodynamics was the logical next step and they did more successful and scientific research on that than F1 at the time.
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I see... Well, the Contessa didn't have more power than the Corvair, so the flaws were not as amplified as they were on the Chevrolet. And I do not have a clear idea as to how the suspension in the Contessa was set up, so I can't really say much about that topic.

And I just might read into the subject of vehicle development in the late '60's, it seems that plenty of new technologies at the time were being created and then refined after the "Unsafe at Any Speeds" case, from what you mention about GM.

Also, sorry to play the grammar police role, but it's Chaparral, not "Chapparal". ;) Regardless, Chaparral was indeed a close partner of GM's, and they used the research made by the group to great racing benefits. They innovated in several aspects of the racing world, while improving upon already existing ones.
 
GM knew the Corvair had really nasty tendencies at the limit before it went on sale. DeLorean said that they had even flipped one or two during pre-production (which is why he fought for the Tempest instead of just a rebodied Corvair). Its problem was that proposals to diminish the flaws with the swing axle rear end were turned down for cost reasons in favor of no cost Band Aids until enough hell was raised by GM upper management that they actually spent the money to try and offset it (and the next year, fix it completely).


Which incidentally was done before the Contessa actually went on sale.
 
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