The Honda Civic Del Sol was one of the rare swings and misses Honda made within its sport compact lineup, but as recent history has shown, the company is not immune from misreading the market. Still, as a curiosity of the 1990s, few vehicles were as memorable as the Del Sol, and this 1993 Si trim example listed here on craigslist features a rare color, stock condition, and the preferred manual transmission. The seller is asking $10,000 for this Del Sol, which is painted in a rare shade known as Samba Green Pearl.
Honda recently introduced the Prelude, which obviously left the lineup several years ago. To say it has been a disappointment is an understatement, with the new car being both overpriced and underperforming, falling well short of the memory many enthusiasts had of Honda’s sporty front-drive coupe. The Del Sol suffered the same fate when it was introduced as a replacement for the beloved CRX. Riding on Civic running gear with a removable top (shown here stowed in the trunk) that made for wet noodle-like handling, it was a far cry from the car it was intended to replace.
Unlike the modern Prelude, the Del Sol still provided plenty of eyeball appeal and a fun-seeking demeanor to make up for the fact that it wasn’t the second coming of the CRX. The interiors were splashed with color, and the driving position felt racy; after all, it was still a true 2-seater. If you could get over the lack of structural rigidity and the inevitable leaks, the targa roof panel would deliver a driving experience typically reserved for more expensive sports cars. The fact that the seller’s Del Sol still looks this good all these years later is a testament to all the owners who were clearly committed to keeping it in excellent shape.
Don’t get excited – this isn’t the VTEC engine that makes the Del Sol truly sing. The 1993 Si came with a mid-range engine option good for around 125 b.h.p. In the final years of production, Honda finally dropped in the B16A3 / B16A2 engines, combining a healthy 160 b.h.p. with an 8,000 RPM redline in the finest Honda tradition of embedding the car’s true potential at the upper reaches of the tach. While this Del Sol may not be the one that helped absolve some of the model’s shortcomings, it’s still a survivor-grade car in a wonderful color – and there’s still plenty of summertime left to enjoy it. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette for the tip.
In 1996 I installed 3 10″ JL Audio subs behind the seat of one of these in this same color. Dude that owned it was probably 6′ 3″ with a 90s mullet. It sounded amazing but his tall goofy head poked out of the top of that tiny car when he drove away. Asked me if I wanted to go cruising around that night. Naw I’m good.
When trying to rationalize a 2-seater convertible, back in the day, choosing between a Del Sol and a Miata was an exercise in futility. Had I not opted for something a little more practical (and within my income level) I think the Del Sol would’ve won. Don’t see many any more, and those I see are almost always enhanced beyond desirability.
I always found this shade of green to be a bit too bright on the eyeballs, but in the city I resided in, they seemed to be as common as any other colour. $10k for a stock Del Sol with a manwell transaxle seems reasonable.
enhanced beyond desirability.
A great phrase!
We see that alot here!
Liked the Arizona white comment 😆
Back in the day I sold a lightly-used base Del Sol slush-box for a newly-minted widow. Albeit slow by the standards of that day it had excellent build quality and this example on offer is better equipped, the color a safety-related bonus. Well priced, won’t last long.
Stepson had a black on black one and put over 90k on it with no problems. Even autocrossed it. Unique design that we could use more of today to soften the thundering herd of 4 colors of 4 door SUVs.
Bobhess I enjoy reading your comments and usually I agree with you. I do disagree with you about the 4 colors 4dr SUVs. Maybe that is true in your area, I’m not there so I don’t know. In Arizona a decent selection of colors on cars and trucks and SUVs is back on the road and I’m thrilled to see the multitude of colors of vehicles on the road again. For several years you definitely were correct on the extremely limited amount of color choices. Thank goodness (for now anyway) that seems to be over.
What? You don’t like Arizona white? (lol)
I was just noticing that a couple of days ago when I was coming out of a grocery store parking lot in Oro Valley.. colors were everywhere and I too was very glad to see it.
The one car I owned that I miss dearly…. The 1997 Honda Del Sol VTEC. Black on black, 160 HP stock. That was a spectacular engine in the Del Sol. With a few tasteful upgrades, it was even better. This one looks to be in great shape even with the less potent power plant. If it wasn’t so far from me, I’d probably buy it in a heartbeat….
Jeff, so sorry you never got to experience the driving pleasure of a Del Sol [CRX-Targa] back in the day … still today. With the top off, there is a moderate cowl shake as in any convertible, only less than contemporary convertibles. But with the Targa attached, the car is buttoned down both from rain and cowl shake. In addition, the angle of the windshield and top-opening were designed to minimize wind intrusion; if it bothered you or to improve mpg, simply lower the rear window. Like the Gen-II CRX, the Del Sol has gobs of room for two tall or large adult males inside; and unlike a Miata, the front seats ca recline for a nap. While the CRX-Targa weighed a few pounds more than the 2nd Gen CRX, you can’t blame the 24 pound aluminium Targa top nor compare top down fun to a hatchback. Honda sold nearly 100,000 of this boutique 90’s offering over 5 model years in the US. The seats were rated as the safest when new, with a built-in headrest [not so much years later in a junkyard]. This example has a rare dealer-installed option: a power antenna … that is still working. Samba green is a love it or hate color. Yes I am the original owner of one, a 1995 SI with ~220,000 miles in iridescent Paradise Blue-Green Pearl. It took nearly 30 years to find a vehicle I enjoy driving as much: 2023 VW Golf-R. Yeah, both are manuals.
Wow, I almost forgot about these cars! I wonder if they really handled that bad? I would imagine they’re probably fine for every day driving and it’s a nice alternative to a convertible with that target top. This one looks really nice! I have a soft spot for old Hondas as I used to work at Acura in the early 90s. Super fun to work on and very reliable. I wouldn’t mind owning one of these today!
As a Honda field rep back when these came out, I remember the intense excitement internally at “The Company.” The Del Sol was going to be a “HOME RUN!” I was a parts division employee at the time and I remember we were restricted from ordering these cars as “demo’s” because the dealers would need all the production they could get, and it would not be good for manufacturer-dealer-relations for us to be seen running around in them. Then they let any sales rep who wanted one have one… Another story for another time. Anyway, once they hit the lots, they sold well and above “Monroni” or sticker price for a couple of months- then the word got out about the disappointing performance and some build quality issues. Sales plummeted. What started out as a product with a lot of great potential died a slow and painful death…
Am original owner of 94 DOHC VTEC del Sol with 95 K miles. Never expected that I or my car would last this long! At 76 I will be passing it on to a younger driver.
Stephen,
I might be interested in this if you’re serious…. Where is it located?
What’s your asking price on it?
Purchased a used one of these for my son. It was his first car. It was a great car with no issues for years.
Back in 1993, a good friend of mine (RIP) saw a Del Sol in this color and immediately wanted me to paint his airboat “Samba Green Pearl”. He absolutely loved this color. So, yes, I painted his airboat as he wished. Needless to say it was the only one on the Platte River that color!
Drove one once. Owner warned me if it rained be careful because it would get sideways at the first tap of the throttle. He didn’t lie.
How do you get sideways in a front wheel drive car other than in a braking situation?
I remember reading years ago that the Del Sol had more leg room than any other car for sale at the time. Since it was built on a Civic chassis but with just 2 seats, plus longer than normal track length I guess.
Is Curvette on the payroll yet with all of these awesome finds for this website??? If not, should be! Curvette always delivers the good stuff!!!
I have owned a black ’95 Del Sol, a red “95, and now own another red ’96 SI. I am what you may say a Del Sol lover. Don’t ask me why; there is no real reason except to say I like the small size, maneuverability, and all while delivering ample roominess for two passengers. Mine was a California owned car with now 158,000 miles and it runs like a top; no rust. Not fast but nimble with great road handling. My earlier black Del Sol was stolen while living in Houston, but recovered a few days later stripped of some components. I never experienced any water leakage along the targa top seals, though I understand that issue mainly occurred in the earlier few years and by ’95 they had fixed the rubber seals. The $10,000.00 asking price for this green one sounds a bit rich but I’m sure it’s because of the V Tec engine which does deliver the extra HP. Still not enough to justify the $10K asking price IMHO.
I cross-shopped one of these against the Miata back in the day, just for the sake of completeness more than anything else. I was decidedly underwhelmed. The car handled well enough, was well screwed together and made decent power, but two (2) things killed the deal for me. First, the engine was at the wrong end of the car! If the motor had been behind the seats I would have been a great deal more interested, but the second issue was a deal breaker. The Targa roof was a major PITA to remove or replace, and since I was a quarter-inch shy of five (5) feet tall at the time, I needed help to take the Targa top off! Since help would be unavailable most of the time, I figured that the roof would stay on the car most of the time, which kind of defeated the purpose of having a removable roof in the first place! Japanese and European drivers could order a DelSol with a power Targa Top, called the TransTop, but for some insane reason, Honda didn’t offer the TransTop in North America (see link below). Doh!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CR-X_del_Sol
I worked with some Civic guys they called them “Del Slows”