Civic Si History

Honda’s 10th Gen Civic Si is coming, but first let MotorTrend take us on a tour through time and give us a look at how far the badge has come since the first Si was released in the 80s.



First time anyone was able to get their hands on an Si was back in 1984. Japan was given a 122-hp, 1.6-liter ZC four-cylinder model, but the U.S. only had a 85-hp Honda Civic S. The Civic CRX Si didn’t land on U.S. soil until 1985 and that was soon followed by a Si hatchback in 1986. The 1985–1987 CRX and Si models were sporting a 1-hp 1.5-liter fuel-injected SOHC I-4.



The fourth gen Civic CRX Si appeared in 1988 with a 105-hp 1.6-liter D16A6 port-injected 16-valve SOHC I-4 followed by a 108 hp Si hatchback in 1989. These new Si cars came standard with a five-speed manual gearbox, larger exhaust, front and rear stabilizer bars, tachometer, power moonroof, passenger mirror, bucket seats, and color-matching rear bumpers. We most likely won’t see a similarly well-equipped standard in the 10th Gen Si.



Then we hit the 90s and Honda came out with a 125-hp Si hatchback with a 1.6-liter SOHC D16Z6 VTEC engine that’s paired with a five-speed manual gearbox. This one came with a few notable standard features as well including rear disc brakes, power moonroof, cruise control, tachometer, body-colored mirrors (1993–1995) and door handles, and Si’s built from 1994–1995 came with ABS and rear speakers too.



1999 was the first year the Si badge was put on a coupe body and it was the first time the U.S.-spec Si has a DOHC engine. A five-speed manual gearbox controlled all 160 ponies from a 1.6-liter B16A2 DOHC VTEC I-4. The coupe Si came with four-wheel disc brakes, fully independent suspension, strut tower braces, 15-inch alloy wheels, and more.



Honda went back to the hatchback body style in 2002 and used a platform different from the Civic sedan and coupe. A 2.0-liter K20A3 DOHC I-4 engine that can crank out 160 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque, is paired with a five-speed manual transmission that’s controlled via a dash mounted shifter. Drivers needed to go past 4,000 rpm to really feel the engine’s power.



For the eight gen lineup, Honda has left out the hatchback body style and came out with both a sedan and coupe Si. First introduced in 2007, the sedan variant shared an engine with the coupe Si, a 2.0-liter K20Z3 DOHC i-VTEC I-4 engine producing 197 hp and 139 lb-ft of torque. It’s paired with a six-speed manual transmission and helical limited-slip differential.



In 2008, Honda came out with a limited edition Civic Mugen Si sedan. Only 1000 units were produced and all of them were painted Fiji Blue Pearl. Custome bits include a sport muffler, stiffer lowering springs, 18-by-8.5-inch forged allow wheels dressed with 215/40ZR18 BFGoodrich g-Force KDW tires, and an aero kit.



The hatchback Si is still missing in the ninth-generation Honda Civic lineup. Both the sedan and coupe Si switched from a 2.0-liter to a 2.4-liter K24Z7 DOHV i-VTEC I-4 engine. Sending 201 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque to the front wheels is a six-speed manual gearbox with a helicat limited-slip differential.



Finally, we come to the most recent 10th-generation Honda Civic with the 2017 Civic Si in a coupe body first. A sedan and hatchback variant could follow. Maybe it’ll have a tuned 1.5-liter turbocharged L15B7 direct-injected DOHC VTEC I-4 or a detuned version of the 2.0-liter turbocharged K20C1 direct-injected DOHC VTEC dual-VTC I-4 found in the civic Type R. No matter the engine, we can expect the new civic Si to produce around 220–230 horsepower.