VANCOUVER — The exciting thing about attending the Luxury & Supercar Weekend at VanDusen Gardens is that you never know what you will see.
One of the classes in the Canadian Concours d’Elegance, and part of the event for the first time, is a future Japanese Collectibles class – which is causing some interest and excitement among owners of these cars because they are finally being recognized.
It is slowly becoming clear that the next wave of collector cars will be of Japanese manufacture. This is because a particular demographic that grew up with them is already beginning to show a keen interest in the cars’ collectibility.
Discerning collectors have already struck, and are reaping the rewards of the million-dollar-plus values of the Toyota 2000 GT, which not that long ago was a $125,000 car.
The Honda lineup will include a first-generation Honda Civic, which looks as if it is new. I’m sure you remember them; they were available in metallic gold, blue or green.
Travelling from the Okanagan is an extremely rare Honda 1300 Coupe 7. This was, without question, the first front-wheel-drive Honda car fitted with a unique air-cooled overhead-camshaft engine. The lightweight cast-aluminum engine block and cylinder head were cooled by air instead of the conventional liquid-cooled systems.
A large multi-bladed impeller was mounted on the end of the crankshaft, forcing cool air to the head and the block through finned passages, similar to the water jackets in a liquid-cooled engine. A dry-sump lubrication system also assisted in engine cooling.
Of the 35,804 Honda Coupe 9 and 7s built, only 1,058 escaped from Japan. The majority — 731 — went to Australia. The only recorded survivors are a total of nine Coupe 7s and six Coupe 9s.
Only 281 Honda S600 coupes were built in 1966. A locally delivered B.C. car will be on display at the show in early September.
Nigel Matthews, Driving
Another Honda gem that will be displayed is the first Honda sports car, the S600. Except for the engine size (606 cubic centimetres), the specifications read like an early Formula One race car: twin overhead camshafts, four carburetors and a crankshaft capable of 9,500 rpm. The power from the engine was delivered to each rear wheel in a sealed oil bath, roller-chain drive set up.
Officially, the S-class cars were never sold in the U.S. Because of a high output of hydrocarbons, they didn’t meet U.S. emission standards. North America would have to wait until 2000 before we saw the next S series sports car. You got it — the S2000, which over time will also fall into the realm of a future Japanese collectible.
For more information and to buy tickets to the show, visit luxurysupercar.com
Nigel Matthews is the global director of client services for Hagerty Insurance Agency, LLC — Hagerty is the world’s largest specialist provider of collector car insurance and provides many resources that support the classic car lifestyle. Contact him at nmatthews@hagerty.com or visit hagerty.ca
