The 1972 1300 Coupe 9 GTL is Still Awesome

Looking Back

Honda is a company built on performance, with a long history of offering fun vehicles both of the two- and four-wheel variety. Today, we often think of cars like the Civic Type R or the S2000 as examples of that, but Honda was making cool and fun machines long before both of those models came along. Recently, Motor Trend reminded of that fact when it revisited one of the brand's earliest performance gems - the 1300 Coupe 9. 

Photos: Motor Trend

Birth of a Legend

The 1300 Coupe 9 was the very last car that Soichiro Honda personally oversaw development of, which makes it special enough in its own right. The automotive industry icon grew up building bikes from spare parts and found himself fascinated by the Ford Model T and its ability to move under its own power. By the age of 16, he was already working in a mechanic's shop.

Photos: Motor Trend

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Changing Careers

Over the years, Honda became quite the skilled engine builder and eventually a racer himself, though a near-fatal accident ended that career prematurely. He then went on to create his own piston rings, which he sold to various automakers (including Toyota), before founding his motorcycle business in 1946.

Photos: Motor Trend

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Going Big

As history tells it, Honda eventually moved on to motorcycle-inspired motorcars, launching the S500 in 1962. It was a natural progression, but Honda eventually realized he needed to build something bigger - a family sedan that could compete with existing manufacturers' offerings. And thus, he came up with the 1300 and unveiled it at the 1968 Tokyo Motor Show.

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Trumping the Competition

At that time, the 1300 was a marvel. In fact, at the show, Toyota president Eiji Toyoda famously looked at the car and then remarked to his engineers - "Honda's car produces 100 hp with a 1,300 cc engine. Why can't we do the same thing?" However, Honda wasn't quite satisfied, and by the time the car reached production, it was even more powerful, packing a 116 hp Series 99 engine.

Photos: Motor Trend

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Drop in the Bucket

Honda produced over 45,000 Coupe 7 and 9 models between 1969 and 1973, 7,881 of which were Coupe 9s, and 1,053 were exported to other markets. This particular gem, owned by Myron Vernis of Akron, Ohio, is one of just two in the U.S. 

Photos: Motor Trend

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Pièce de Résistance

The Coupe 9 was never a smashing sales success, but it is a very special car that deserves more recognition than it currently enjoys. After all, this is Honda's creator's pièce de résistance, a car built to dominate the competition, which is exactly what it did for some time. And perhaps more importantly, it helped start something much, much bigger.

Photos: Motor Trend

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