Michelotti Oddball: 1967 Hino Contessa 1300

Congratulations. You’ve made it to the weird and wonderful end of the JDM collector car pool, where the waters are deep, the odds of running into a second example are zero, and the badge on the hood will leave even seasoned car spotters scratching their heads. Today’s next feature is a Hino Contessa 1300 Coupe — a Michelotti-penned rear-engined unicorn that was so obscure that even die-hard JDM nerds have to Google Duckduckgo it twice—and Toyota itself quietly shelved the whole thing before it had a chance to outshine their own lineup. This one’s been sympathetically revived by the team at Driven.co and exudes vintage Trans Am energy, BRE provenance, and more quirks than a Saab owner’s club picnic. It’s got disc brakes, dual carbs, a handmade shift knob by Hino’s own Satoshi Ezawa, and yes — a Peter Brock autograph on the glovebox. You’re not just buying a car here… you’re buying a story, a survivor, and possibly the most roadworthy museum piece you’ll ever drive. Find this 1967 Hino Contessa 1300 offered for $34,900 or best offer in Irvine, CA via ebay motors.

From the seller:

Congratulations. You have made it to the wild 60’s zone. Perhaps you arrived here by spying a rarity few know about. Perhaps you lived in Japan in the 1960s. Perhaps you are a fan of the B.R.E. racing cars. JDM Guy? Or perhaps you are like the rest of us who said “what the heck is that?”

“That” is a 1967 Hino Contessa 1300 Michelotti Coupe.

Driven.co is a small shop of just 4 guys and we all love the challenge of something different. We discovered and purchased this car in a Southern California warehouse. While we could have returned every part to perfect, we undertook a sympathetic refurbishment of this vehicle with an eye to maintaining its unique place in history as a Driver’s car, a weekend racer that you could drive to the track. Most of the work done recently was what you would expect: cleaning, cajoling, gently prodding and coaxing a stored car back to life. Fuel systems were cleaned. Brakes cleaned and unfrozen. Electrical systems checked – charging good, battery replaced. Polishing, waxing and some general TLC.

Rarity

Comparable sales are pretty hard to come by. Just a few thousand Hino Coupes were produced before the Contessa was set aside in favor of the Toyota Corolla nearly 60 years ago. Toyota acquired Hino in 1966 for its manufacturing capacity and Hino became the truck producing division of Toyota. Hino car production ceased.

We’re aware of just two other Contessas in the USA. A well known collector owns a gorgeous blue Coupe as well as a 4 door project. Your chances of running into another are rather remote.

The Contessa 1300 Coupe was designed by the famed Giorgio Michelotti and was lauded for its contemporary lines and sweeping greenhouse. Note his GM logo on the rear quarter panels.

This Contessa remained in Japan until 2019. During the last 58 years, just 48113 KM were recorded on the odometer. That’s 29888 miles or about 515 miles per year.

Hino wanted to bring a passenger car product to the U.S. They felt that a good method of exposure would be through racing. the aligned with Pete Brock (designer of the corvette, and the shelby cobra daytonoa coupe), to go racing. BRE formed “Team Samauri”, which later became the famed B.R.E. with Datsun cars. Brock and the Hino Contessas surprised everyone in the racing world with a first and second place finish at the Mission Bell 100 event at the first Trans Am race at Riverside Raceway. However, Toyota had then become interested in absorbing Hino into their fold as a truck producer, and the Contessa project was abruptly halted although the Contessa’s place in automotive racing history won’t be soon forgotten. The Pete Brock autographed print commemorates the BRE Contessas and is included.

Designed to be exported and raced at home in Japan, she likely did some club racing there. From the dash mounted ETC, which still beeps on when the car is started, we can see highway miles were likely accumulated. The JDM Electronic Toll Collector allows the driver to quickly clear Japanese tollbooths with a prepaid card inserted.

On Jun 9, 2025 we took the Contessa out to BRE for Peter to see. He commented that this was a very nice example of the cars he used to race. He lamented that this 67 model had Disc Brakes, a feature not present on his record setting 1966 race cars. The staff at BRE remarked that although they knew the Hino Contessa story well, most had never actually seen one in person. They loved the period-correct SSR wheels but Peter commented that they were likely too delicate for the thrashing of Trans AM racing.

“IS THIS ONE OF THE 20 FAMED “L MODEL” LIGHTWEIGHT COUPES BUILT FOR COMPETITION?”

Perhaps not but we can’t explain why it weighs 65KG less than a stock spec car.

Here’s what we do know:

There are no side marker lamps which are common for Contessas but not an option on the lightweight.

Bare floorboards with scuff wear

We had the car weighed. It was weighed wet, meaning full of fuel, seating and spare tire in place.

The certificate shows 1940 LBS which equates to 880KG

A stock Contessa Coupe weighed 945KG dry per the brochure.

Be sure not to miss these great JDM highlights:

Build Quality. Every aspect of this car exudes a level of build quality normally associated with much more expensive cars from 1967. Pete Brock pointed this out when he was signing the glove box door. He said that a small group of guys at Hino were car guys and they wanted to make great cars. As an example, he pointed out that the glove box door was built much better than it needed to be. It is solid, well designed in and out and weighs about 4 lbs which is surprising for its small size. Typically, you would expect to see a thin light weight part.

Interior – HighwayTransport Club ETC. At first we thought it was a radar detector mounted on the dash. It’s actually an Electronic Toll Collector and you insert your prepaid card to pay the tolls in Japan without having to stop.

Interior – The HOON. Funnier now than then? Absolutely. The fact that a paper sticker glued to the dash stayed intact for 58 years is pretty amazing.

Interior – Everything works. Gauges, lights, signals, radio(s) even the co-pilot’s map light.

Interior – The “National” Japanese tuned AM radio (pre-Panasonic) and Beltek door speakers. A newer radio/CD player is in the glove compartment and is paired with additional Beltek speakers on the parcel shelf.

Interior – Check out that cool aluminum shift knob. We learned that the esteemed Hino “guru” Satoshi Ezawa, the proprietor of hinosamurai.org, hand made that shift knob for the prior owner of this car! The car brings him great memories, and was a car dear to him. He’s built an awesome fan website too.

Exterior – Gorgeous JDM 13” SSR, Formula, 3 piece alloy wheels.

Exterior – Wing Mirrors

Exterior – Lowered Stance with race springs. The rear fenders have been subtly widened. (See the photos) The front inner wheel wells have been reformed in the rear to reduce potential tire rub.(“You have to do that” according to Mr. Brock) All four wheel arches have been rolled

Exterior – Port of Yokohama export sticker

Exterior.

Resprayed in glossy white over the factory eggshell (perhaps to match the BRE cars?). It was done quite a while ago and was a quality job but the emblems were not removed so you can see tiny masking errors.

Excellent body fit and finish

Solid underneath and in the spare tire storage bin.

Stainless steel bolts have been used throughout the car, replacing the standard fasteners.

95% Original survivor chrome

Wide rear grille is polished stainless steel

The emblems exhibit some minor pitting commensurate with age

Lowered in the rear with race springs.

Lowered in the front with torsion bars

Tilt out rear quarter windows, minor bubbling on lower door corners

Front and rear bumpers and brackets are included. The rear bumper is freshly rechromed.

Wheels, Tires

Gorgeous 13” SSR, Formula, 3 piece wheels

Lightweight aluminum alloy lug nuts

Brakes

Front disc calipers have been rebuilt. Fresh pads.

Rear drums serviced

Fluids serviced

E Brake works well

Engine

1251 4 cylinder Hino GR100 engine. Engine serial number 107422.

Dual Hino branded SOLEX licensed side draft 40MM carburetors built by Mikuni. (freshly rebuilt)

Exhaust Header

OEM Hino/Hitachi distributor.

Genuine Marmitte Anza muffler with twin chrome tips and vintage tags

Fresh tune

The missing engine compartment cooling tin is included.

Many of the accessory parts are Hino branded including the carburetors, distributor and water pump.

Transmission

4 Speed Manual transmission

Interior

Nice clean interior.

Correct Hino Sport steering wheel.

Wood dash

Glove box autographed by Peter Brock.

11000 RPM Tachometer

Gauges (plus two additional gauges, see photos)

There is no carpet. The bare floor shows a bit of paint wear from usage

Two Hino branded keys

The door and engine compartment locks are functional with the factory keys

Trunk/Frunk

Nice condition. All covers and panels in place

New battery

Cleaned fuel tank and lines. New pump.

Spare tire and wheel

Underneath

No rust.

Solid and damage free frame and pan.

No drivetrain leaks.

Documentation

Clean and clear California title

California plates and registration tags till October 2025

2019 Export documentation from Japan

BRE Hino Contessa framed artwork featuring the autograph of Peter Brock.

Photo of Peter Brock with this car in front of his BRE shop.

Photo disc of our collected research documentation on the Hino Contessa 1300 Coupe.

Inspection

Please come inspect this great car before the listing ends. We are happy to meet you and show her off. The details contained in this listing are based on our review of the vehicle and any errors or omissions are unintentional. Please keep in mind that this is a 51 year old used car. It will need periodic attention just as any classic does. It is not a new car and will not be fresh and perfect like that new soul sucking Camry your Aunt Betty drives. If that’s what you are after, this is not your era, nor your car so please move on to something boring.

Videos

See a better way to drive something different? tips@dailyturismo.com