Honda made its first foray outside the borders of its home market roughly six decades ago, and over the course of that period it has become not just a major player in the global automotive industry but also the purveyor of some of the most interesting and exciting automobiles ever built.
Graduating from motorcycles to four-wheelers was a gradual process for the Honda brand, but its focus on engineering excellence saw the company quickly evolve from fuel-saving compacts to world-beating performance cars and profit-generating luxury. Looking back through Honda’s history reveals a baker’s dozen of delights that set the pace, changed the rules and ignited the passions of millions of drivers. These are our picks for the coolest Honda automobiles of all time.
The S600 was the first Honda sold outside of Japan, making the pint-size roadster (and coupe) an incredibly important ambassador not just for Honda but also the rest of the country’s nascent automotive industry. Weighing in at less than 1,600 pounds, the elegantly styled runabout drew heavily from the company’s motorcycle history with a tiny 606cc four-cylinder engine with a redline that swept past 9,000 rpm on its way to producing 57 horsepower.
For many Europeans (where the S600 found its biggest audience) it was their first taste of Japanese motoring, and it compared well to the small British sports cars available at the time.
Americans had to wait a little longer to sample what Honda had to offer. After a brief flirtation with the S600’s replacement, the S800 (which was intended for the U.S. market but was never officially imported) as well as the tiny N600 and Z600, Honda fought back by introducing an automobile that would become an icon: the Civic hatchback.
Gone were the bike-like affectations of the sub-liter S-series cars, and in their place was a fuel-sipping four-cylinder hatch that was cheap to buy, inexpensive to fuel up in the middle of a paralyzing energy crisis, and right-sized for U.S. roads. The Civic planted Honda’s flag in a Japanese import field that had previously been restricted to Toyota and Datsun, and in doing so it introduced the compact front-wheel-drive template that defined econocars for the next four decades.
Related: Honda Civic Visual History
Honda’s smallest car at the beginning of the ’80s was also one of its quirkiest. Matching the bones of a tall-roofed subcompact wagon with an intercooled, turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the City Turbo II also featured box flares, brake vents, beefy bumpers and a power-bulge hood. Good for 108 horsepower, the turbo came with a “scramble boost” button that added 10 percent more pressure for 10 seconds of flat-pedal fun.
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None of this was what you’d expect from ostensibly a cheap commuter car, but pop the hatch on a properly equipped Turbo II, and there was another surprise waiting for you: a Motocompo scooter, which fit snugly into a cargo area Honda specifically designed for the fold-up personal mobility device.
Honda’s smallest U.S. offering was considerably different in the 1980s. The CRX was essentially a truncated, two-seat Civic hatchback with a focus on fuel efficiency. When its second generation arrived in 1988, its sleeker styling and newly independent four-wheel suspension made it a hit on the still-nascent import performance scene.
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The Honda CRX Si eschewed the ultra-efficient character of the entry-level model in favor of a 105-horsepower 1.6-liter multi-power-injected four-cylinder engine that gave wings to the car’s ultra-light 2,000-pound platform. An even quicker 158-horsepower version of the CRX Si was available in Japan.
When thinking about mid-engine roadsters, the mind tends to wander to high-dollar exotica. In Japan in the early ’90s, however, Honda took a shrink ray to this concept when it introduced the Beat. Falling under the country’s “kei car” classification, its three-cylinder engine displaced no more than 660cc while offering up 64 horsepower.
Intended for urban living, the high-revving Beat was more about making a lifestyle statement than outright performance, but its well-balanced character and extroverted looks quickly became one the kei segment’s most popular and enduring offerings.
The Acura NSX (sold as the Honda NSX in Japan) was a slap across the face of Ferrari and other proud European marques that had previously held sway over the supercar stage. As eye-catching as anything to ever leave Maranello yet considerably more reliable and easier to live with on a daily basis, the midengine NSX counted input from F1 driver Ayrton Senna as part of its development process.
Although its V-6 power was far from overwhelming (270 horsepower from a 3.0-liter V-6, with a 290-horsepower 3.2-liter V-6 arriving in 1997), the car’s incredible balance and relatively lightweight platform made it a darling among those who prized the drive above all else.
Honda’s Acura luxury division was still in its early stages when the Integra GS-R arrived for the 1992 model year. This version of the Integra featured a screaming 1.7-liter four-cylinder engine that introduced VTEC variable valve timing to America (a couple of years after it became available in Japan), and paired it with ultra-short gearing for a high-strung dose of performance.
Capable of 160 horsepower at 7,600 rpm, the drivetrain was a revelation in the compact segment, which combined with the Integra’s sleek hatchback styling to ignite the blood of budget-conscious enthusiasts.
The Integra GS-R was setting the table for Honda’s masterpiece of ’90s sport compact performance: the Integra Type R. Lauded as one of the best-handling front-wheel-drive machines ever produced (thanks to extensive chassis upgrades versus its predecessor), the Type R was a revelation under the hood, too, with a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine good for just under 200 horsepower.
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Because it didn’t arrive in the United States until 1997, the Integra Type R had a two-year head start on building its legend in Japan. By the time it went on sale on this side of the Pacific, it was hungrily snapped up by Honda fans. Time has been kind of the Type R — to date the only American Acura to wear that badge — making it one of the few Japanese vehicles of the late ’90s to command a significant premium among collectors.
The very first Honda Civic Type R was forbidden fruit for anyone living outside of Japan, where the EK9 hot hatch tore up the streets and presented a blistering alternative to the more expensive Integra Type R’s similar charms.
Featuring a blueprinted, 182-horsepower four-cylinder engine aided and abetted by high-revving VTEC technology, the tiny Civic Type R punched well above its weight. The hatch launched the street-racing dreams of thousands of teenagers clutching their learner’s permits and built a reputation that would see Americans clamoring for their own taste of the Type R magic — a demand that Honda would take 20 years to deliver on.
The Prelude had long been a favorite among Honda fans, but the final generation of the coupe remains the most memorable outing. Featuring a long hood and a truncated rear, the Honda Prelude amalgamated the automaker’s latest technologies, including active torque management at the front axle (intended to reduce understeer), VTEC and four-wheel steering (in the Japanese market).
The 195-hp version that made it to the United States also featured the stiffest chassis yet for the nameplate, providing a mix of handling acumen and quiet, comfortable cruising that was a rarity at its size and price point. Japanese buyers received an additional 20 horsepower or so via the SiR S-Spec trim.
Honda’s return to its roadster roots was a spectacular one — and given the S2000’s reputation as a “four-wheeled motorcycle” in terms of driving feel, one that felt true to the original S600’s character.
Built around a 240-hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that screamed all the way to 8,900 rpm, the S2000 was the kind of car that had to be kept at a boil to be properly enjoyed, which meant trading high-revving thrills on the track or in the canyons for a more lethargic around-town experience. Still, with lively handling (and a propensity for snap oversteer), the Honda S2000 was a rocketship with no direct competitors, and one whose bulletlike looks earned it cult status almost immediately among enthusiasts.
The Honda Insight was in many ways as mild as the S2000 was wild, but it had a cultural impact that was nearly as resonant at the time. Featuring sheetmetal that prized aero above all else, the Insight was the first production hybrid to be sold in America, beating the Toyota Prius to market, and the pint-size two-door hatch quickly became the prop of choice for celebrities seeking to be seen flaunting their eco-friendly credentials. And, unlike economy focused hybrids today, it featured an available manual transmission in addition to a CVT.
The Insight’s electrically assisted 67-hp three-cylinder was certainly no match for the S2K’s barn burner (or even a steep hill), but it returned a phenomenal 61 mpg, which was head and shoulders above the most frugal gas-only engines of the time. Although overshadowed by the success of its rival, the Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight remains a landmark of hybrid engineering.
It took nearly two decades, but when the Honda Civic Type R finally appeared at American showrooms, it quickly became apparent that the wait had been worth it. The ensuing years had seen the Type R evolve from buzzy street warrior to turbocharged track king, with 306 horsepower shunted to the front wheels and a dazzling array of electronic driver’s aids and traction-abetting technologies ensuring constant grip and a straight and true line from one apex to the next.
The FK8-generation Civic Type R instantly raised the bar for hot hatch performance, and it remains a hard-to-follow example to this day.
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Photos by Mecum Auctions, Alan Muir, MotorTrend Staff, Manufacturer
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