What a Legend...

One from last weekend's TCCAV Classic Japan car show; what was - when asked - my 'favourite thing I'd seen' that day...

...I must've said it to half-a-dozen people. I meant it. Out of all those cars; a metallic-gold, front-driving, automatic Honda coupe?

Well.. yeah.

I've just always had a bit of a thing for these retiree-chariots; so coming across this very tidy, original example, hit very hard with the why-isn't-this-mine feelings..

Likely re-capping much of what I'd said when I last rambled about these four years ago: first generation of Honda's still-sold Legend; introduced in 1985, with the coupe following in 1987 - a bodystyle only available for the first two generations. Basic SOHC V6's were mounted transversely under that sloping bonnet/hood, and powered the front wheels through 5spd man or 4spd automatic transmissions.

Ol' Goldie Hawn here specifically would be sporting the naturally-aspirated 128kw (172hp) 2.7litre V6, the four-speed, and weigh in at ~1430kg/~3150lbs...

...clawing at the bitumen through some 205/60s mounted on the properly-directional 15" alloys.

Tempra Touring? Eurgh.. only the best this far down the track, for the former luxury coupe...

Actually... speaking of which, as it really needs to be stressed: this was not a cheap car when it hit the Australian market in November 1987. At a whisker under $60,000, it was dearer than any of the high-performance Japanese coupes of the era (Supra, 300ZX, RX-7 Turbo..); near-enough the same price as a Prelude and an Integra, or two twin-cam CRX's and change..

..but I digress..

It's those delicate lines I love so much on these. How they look 'light on their feet'. Slim sides, with a tight beltline-to-sill height (visually helped further by that low two-tone); the subtle box-flares that fade in and out down its length; those thin pillars framing the large glasshouse...
Details that combine to prevent large, boring, surfaces of colour; and make the relatively-large Japanese coupe (it's ~4750mm long) appear a lot smaller than it is.

The tidy original exterior wraps not-too-surprisingly around a tidy original interior: two-tone, tan leather and brown plastics/carpets; with glossy brown wood impressively restrained to the console/HVAC area.
What else have we got here? Well there's a dainty four-spoke leather trimmed wheel, cruise control, fairly comprehensive instruments, and sunroof controls (somewhat oddly..) at your fingertips.
The radio is the seemingly standard-fare Honda Australia Pioneer KE-8003ZH: an AM/FM/cassette unit I covered with a few detailed shots in a recent Honda Concerto post..

102,681kilometeres - 63,803miles - and it shows.
Not 30,000km a year, then sitting under a tree for the next two decades; no.. this looks like gentle use.. much-loved use..
Thumbs-up to the current owner for keeping it so tidy.

Australian launch advert: Prestige has never been more exhilarating. Honda hammering home the message of its Formula 1 efforts, and careful lighting on the solid-white coupe showing off those oh-so-neat flares mentioned above...

Honda's Legend. "A car whose performance - unrestricted by old-world pedigrees - became the index of excellence for the discerning motorist."




Done.