PHIL’S PICKS

GO ON, TREAT YOURSELF

TRACK DAY cars are usually the last thing I’d look at given the thrashing most cop. However, in this case I’ll make a exception because of this model’s famous histor y.

The 1300 was Honda’s first attempt at a mainstream small coupe. This car was so important to the brand that the design and develoment project was led by none other than Soichiro Honda himself, who said, “It’s to take the wind out of the sails of Toyota and Nissan.”

Honda also spent a fortune developing the air cooled 1.3-litre engine found in the 1300 that sold in very low numbers in Australia. I’m glad to see the interior hasn’t been butchered with roll bars and exta gauges f lung across the dash and to take it back to its road car roots won’t cost a fortune. I reckon this 1300 coupe would be a heap of fun on the track, which is probably why its owner tricked it up in the first place.