eBay Find of the Week: Fun and fuel efficient
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The 1980s were a quiet period for enthusiasts of lightweight sports cars. Dated European designs had mostly left the market. MG left North America after 1980 followed by Triumph. Fiats lingered under the Bertone and Pininfarina brand names for a few years. Only the Alfa Romeo Spider remained for traditional roadster fans. Nissan Z’s had become heavy and complex touring cars, Mazda was selling the RX-7 but the Miata was but a distant dream. Filling this void in the mid-’80s were two Japanese two-seaters: the mid-engine Toyota MR2, and the front-wheel-drive Honda CR-X, this week’s eBay find.
The second-generation CR-X Si, like this 1989 example, sold well but few seem to remain in their original form. Their light weight (just a hair over 2,000 lbs.), fully independent suspension, fuel-injected SOHC engines and surprisingly practical front-wheel-drive hatchback design made for a fun and simple sports car. They were austere by today’s standards, featuring manual steering, crank windows, and if one was lucky, dealer-installed air conditioning. But achieving fuel economy over 35 mpg was easy.
This Honda’s seller indicates that the CR-X maintains its original bodywork and has only been driven 73,000 miles since new. The interior appears stock. A few minor modifications such as the shocks and stereo can be reversed with the included original parts, but they likely won’t interfere with the fun of wringing the most out of 105 horsepower.
