1985-87 Honda CRX Si

The real appeal was a 0-60 time below nine seconds, quicker than a Porsche 944

by Chris Lydiksen

By the end of the fuel-crisis-plagued 1970s, Honda and its Japanese counterparts had all but beaten the American auto industry into submission with legions of cheap and highly efficient pint-sized sedans and hatchbacks. American muscle was out. Econo-boxes were in. As the big three continued to downsize, by the mid-1980s performance and sportiness became virtually non-existent. Against this backdrop, Honda introduced the two-seat CRX coupe in 1984, a sporting offshoot of the humble Civic. A year later, the hot Si version appeared, powered by a fuel-injected 1488-cc four-cylinder, a 12-valve design (two intake, one exhaust) that made 91 hp and 93 lb-ft of torque. This new model was anything but boring, being both a perfect commuter and great weekend racer. Its hatchback design gave it loads of cargo space despite its diminutive size, and fuel economy was above 30 mpg. But the real appeal was a 0-60 time below 9 seconds, quicker than a Porsche 944. The CRX’s...