1967 Hino Contessa 1300 Sedan

Description

Better known for producing trucks, Hino made an all but forgotten foray into the family car market in the 1960s with a design heavily influenced by Renault’s Dauphine. Hino had been producing a version of Renault’s 4CV under licence in Japan and the new Contessa utilised that model’s drivetrain and swing-axle suspension, although the water-cooled engine was installed longitudinally in a larger platform with room for five adults. Unusually for a rear-engined car the radiator was positioned behind the engine. The original PC Contessa’s styling was similarly adapted from Renault but Hino added a stylish coupe variant penned by Italian designer Michelotti in 1962, known as the Contessa 900 Sprint. Hino released a second-generation Contessa in 1964 and the PD series was considerably larger than its predecessor; a more powerful 1251cc engine featuring five main bearings was employed, paired with either a three-speed column shift manual or the optional floor-mounted four-speed gearbox. Hino’s Michelotti-styled new Contessa was considerably more attractive than the rather dumpy first-generation version, with influences from Triumph at the rear end and Chevrolet’s similarly rear-engined Corvair around the nose. Assembled in Israel and New Zealand in addition to Japan, the Contessa was exported to certain European countries and a small number found their way to Australia in the day. Plans to market the Contessa in the United States were ultimately shelved but Pete Brock’s BRE Racing outfit prepared a couple for racing to help promote the brand there, one even winning1966 LA Times Grand Prix. Hino’s partnership with parent company Toyota in March 1967 saw the Contessa eventually phased out in 1969. Few of these technically interesting Japanese cars have survived, particularly outside of their homeland, making this the perfect head-turner for the next Cars & Coffee event – it’s guaranteed to attract plenty of attention wherever it goes.