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Introduction
In the 1960s and 1970s, the streets were ruled by large, gas-guzzling American cars with lots of displacement and gobs of horsepower. Cars like the Hemi 'Cuda and the GTO judge were the choice of every guy who wanted to go cruise the strip, and maybe hand out some good old fashioned quarter mile beatings. The problem with this era was that to have a high performance car, you had to foot the bill first for a big car payment, and second for a big fuel bill. Flash forward to the mid 1980s, and these cars of the 70s are even more expensive, and even worse on the pocket book when it comes to keeping the big cube, big horsepower engines fed. People began trying to find ways to get more performance out of less engine. The smaller engine allowed for better fuel mileage, smoother daily drivability, and much better cornering than the performance cars of the muscle car era. Companies like Honda, Toyota, and Nissan quickly became popular choices of people who wanted a car that would go fast without forking over the huge amounts of cash needed to buy most V8 cars. For the cost of an older car, the new breed of gear heads quickly found that they could buy a 4 cylinder compact car, and do a great deal of work to it, yet still have money left in their pocket.
The Si Series
The major manufacturers quickly recognized this new trend and began offering performance models of their one-time economy cars. Toyota offered cars like the MR2 and the Celica GT; Nissan offered cars like the Sentra SE-R, and starting in 1985, Honda Motor Co. offered the CRX Si. The Si was small, cornered well, and at ninety one horsepower, the fuel injected, 1.5 liter engine offered a good deal of power for an import sport compact of that time. In 1986, the first Civic Si was offered, with the same ninety-one horsepower engine offered in the CRX Si. In 1988 the Si's got some upgrades, including a jump to a fuel injected, 1.6 liter engine, upping the horsepower to one hundred and five. Both of the Si's also got a longer wheelbase in 1988. 1989 brought a three horsepower gain to the Si's, and in 1990, while there was no stock horsepower gain, the civic EX was a sort of Si sedan, using the Si engine, and it came equipped with four wheel disc brakes. In 1991, there was little change to either of the Si models, but this year spelled the last year for the little CRX. 1992 brought a dramatic change in appearance in the Civic, with it taking on a more aerodynamic wedge-shape design. It was also lengthened, the horsepower of the 1.6 liter engine was upped to one hundred and twenty five, and a five speed manual transmission become standard in the Si. 1993 brought the debut of the replacement for the CRX, which was the Civic del Sol, and it came with the one hundred and twenty-five horsepower engine, and in 1994, that del Sol got a bump in horsepower up to one hundred and sixty, which came standard in the Si and VTEC models. 1994 also gave the del Sol larger disc brakes, tighter suspension, and factory high performance fourteen inch wheels. In 1995, the Civic del Sol received antilock brakes in the VTEC line, and that feature was also added to the Si model in 1996. 1997 was the last year for the Civic del Sol, so Honda made to alterations to the vehicle in its last run. The tuning public was without an Si model until half way through the 1999 model year, when the Civic Si Coupe returned to the lineup. This new coupe included a distinctive body style compared to the base model Civics. They also had a front strut tower brace, tighter suspension, 15 inch aluminum wheels, four wheel disc brakes, and a one hundred and sixty horsepower, 1.6 liter VTEC engine. 2000 offered a variety of paint options, but no other changes were made, until 2001 when the Si began being offered only in a hatchback form, with a now 1.7 liter one hundred and sixty horsepower engine. It had been a quick evolution of the Si name through the 3 different unique styles of the Civic, and as other companies, such as
Chevrolet with the Cobalt SS and Dodge with the SRT-4 offering high performance sport compacts to compete with the Civic, Honda Motor Company has been pressured to come out with something for Honda enthusiasts to stay abreast of the import and domestic competition alike. And as in the past, Honda has stepped up and come up with what looks to be another big winner.
The New Si
Honda Motor Company officially debuted the 2006 at the 2005 Chicago Auto Show, and while it is only a concept so far, Honda Motor Company executives and designers indicate that we are seeing what is to be, or what is very close to, what we will have as the 2006 Si. This new Si will be the performance model in a very exciting new Civic lineup which also includes the base model Civic Coupe, the Civic Sedan, and the super-efficient Civic Hybrid GX. The new Si concept is somewhat of a 20th anniversary edition of the original Si, embodying all of the finer features of the Civic Si over the past twenty years. The biggest feature, the new generation of the i-VTEC, which is a sixteen valve, Dual Over Head Camshaft style engine, building an amazing two hundred horsepower, with the new i-VTEC stretching the engine to a steep eight thousand RPM redline. But all of this horsepower does the driver no good if it can not be put to the asphalt properly, and to ensure that as many of those two hundred angry ponies get to the ground as smoothly as possible, the 2006 Si is expected to come equipped with a close ratio six-speed performance transmission, which helps to get the car from gear to gear with less shifter throw, and less lag between gears and to make sure that all of that horsepower gets the car moving out, instead of just eating up asphalt, the new Si will feature a helical style limited slip ifferential, which helps to bolster traction by utilizing both front wheels as drive wheels when need be. Speaking of front wheels, all four of the new Si corners will come equipped with a special eighteen inch cast aluminum wheel, unique to this new Si, and those gorgeous new wheels come wrapped in 225/40R18 performance tires. And with all of these items helping to get the new Si moving, the most important feature becomes a way to get this little beast stopped. To assist in that stopping feature, the new Si comes standard with huge four piston Brembo calipers biting down on massive front and rear cross driller Brembo rotors. These items help to make the car that is already one of the top selling, safest cars in the United States market also one of the best performers in its market.
The drivetrain and brakes are not the only thing that have been radically advanced in this new Si. The exterior of the car has been redesigned for maximum aerodynamics and a sporty look. The cab has, from a side view, a very centrally mounted position between the short smooth hood and the almost non-existent trunk lid. The point where the windshield and a-pillar meet the hood is almost completely flat thanks to the steeply sloped from hood and fenders and the completely flush headlights. The hood has an elevated stance over fenders which, thanks to the body line, create almost flare-side or wide body kit look, as often seen on European road rally cars. Much like the front end, where the rear window meets the trunk lid there is almost no angle until the line meets the low dual pedestal molded rear spoiler. Passing under the spoiler the air slips down the smooth back end, over the flush molded tail lights, and down to the ground past the lower rear air diffuser. To keep with the smooth clean lines, the Si Concept has the performance exhaust coming through the molded rear fascia. The sides of the new Si concept are just as aerodynamically designed as the front to back is, with the quick angled roof meeting the side glass, which then meet doors and quarter panels and virtually flattens out, straight to the ground with the exception of some very subtle body moldings, and a slight bottom edge lip that runs from the outer edges of the front fascia, around the wheel wells and back to the rear of the car, stopping just shy of the molded exhaust area. The wheel wells have been extended only far enough to allow the needed room for the massive 18 inch performance tires, thus eliminating as
much air turbulence though the openings as possible. Even the side mirrors of the new Si are molded in accordance with the overall aerodynamic theme, with the smooth creased body line of the top of the front fender sweeping into the front side of the mirrors, angling air out and over, giving some gentle added down force. All of these features, making the new Si Concept seemingly the smoothest, most aerodynamic factory Si ever produced, as well as the highest performance Civic ever, and with the exception of the S2000, this new Si will be the highest horsepower car to ever fly the Honda logo amidst the sinister looking front grille section.
While this new Civic line is only conceptual right now, based on the comments made by designers and engineers, as well as management of the Honda Motor Company, this new Si promises to be a wicked ride for the driver, and a bad dream for the competition. The Civic already being such a popular tuning car, with a stock horsepower of two hundred, and considering the amount of aftermarket parts available for Honda vehicles, the new Si will likely be building big enough numbers to keep the need for speed quenched, and to keep those pesky V8 drivers scratching their head and asking, "Did I just get crushed by a Civic" Yes, yes you did, and with the direction that Honda Motor Company is headed with the new Civic Si, you had better get used to it.
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