Honda Del Sol
Introduction
The Honda Civic del Sol, also known as the Honda del Sol and Honda CR-X in some markets, was a two seat, targa top convertible manufactured by Honda in the 1990s. Based on the Civic platform, the Del Sol was the successor to the popular Honda CR-X. It debuted in 1992 in Japan and the United Kingdom, and 1993 in the United States.
The Spanish name del sol translates as of the sun, and refers to the car's opening roof. It was not a full convertible, featuring a removable hardtop that stowed in the trunk and a retractable rear window for that "convertible" feel. Trunk space was reduced from 10.5cf to 8.3cf while the targa was stowed.
In many markets the CR-X naming convention was dropped from the del Sol line as it was distinctly different from earlier models, which were hatchbacks and not convertibles. Starting with the 1995 models, Honda dropped the 'Civic' name from the del Sol.
The del Sol underwent a slight alteration in 1996 (which included removing the two auxiliary headlamps) in an attempt to boost sales, but uncharacteristically poor body build quality (the targa tops were prone to leaks in early models) and poor promotion had all but doomed the del Sol. Production and sales ended with the 1997 model in the U.S. and 1998 elsewhere, with a total of slightly fewer than 75,000 models sold in America.
Del Sol Features
The del Sol was first introduced to North America in 1993 in two trim levels, The S and the SI. The base "S" model came with a 1.5 liter SOHC 16-valve four cylinder engine and rode on 13" steel wheels.
The Japanese models are: VXi, VGi, and SiR being the top of the line model. In Europe they made the ESi (D16Z6), and VTi being the top of the line model.
The uplevel "Si" model came standard with a 1.6 liter SOHC 16-valve four cylinder engine with Honda's VTEC. The Si also came with 14" alloy wheels which were body color-matched on Samba Green models, power side mirrors, cruise control, rear disc brakes and a front anti-sway bar for improved handling.
The VTEC trim line was added in 1994, with the first appearance of a 160 hp (119 kW) Honda DOHC VTEC B-series engine in a U.S.-spec Honda. Smooth and powerful, with a high redline, the B16A3 is the same powerplant found in the Civic Si-R. This trim level came with bigger front brakes, larger front anti-sway bar, additional rear anti-sway bar and different 14" wheels known as "Fat Fives" with wider tires.
On all models, the only options were a rear spoiler, custom floor mats, and air conditioning.
An option that was available in Japan and Europe was the Trans Top, an electric mechanism which retracted the targa top into the trunk via a push of a button. In Europe it was available on the VTi model, which became standard in 1995 on the ESi model. The roof is operated by flicking two catches above the windows, then holding down a button. The trunk lid raises vertically and extends two arms into the targa top, after which you then flick the latches back up. Then the targa gets pulled into the trunk lid, and the trunk lid lowers back down with the targa inside it.