Ever since the ‘70s, a sword of Damocles has been hanging on convertibles. They even disappeared from many carmakers’ ranges, especially in the US and Japan. Yet here we are, five decades later, and cabriolets are still very much alive and kicking. Even the retractable metal top fad of the early 2000s didn’t manage to eradicate the old fabric tops, here since the dawn of motoring. Our CC is a great representative of the ‘80s rebirth of the Japanese convertible.
Honda’s first proper car was a roadster, so the company would have a deep historical attachment to open-air driving. Yet since the S800 went out of production in 1970, Honda seemed to forego convertibles, as did other Japanese carmakers in the ‘70s. The reason was obvious: Japan’s main export market across the Pacific was rumoured to be on the verge of outlawing soft-tops altogether for safety reasons. Ultimately, the threat never materialized, and both American and Japanese carmakers started to realized that they had gifted a niche to those inscrutable Europeans, who were laughing all the way to the bureau de change for many years.
Considering the Golf Cabriolet, Honda probably figure that their City hatchback, launched in 1981, was a great candidate for a dropping of the topping. And so the carmaker, having devised a tall-roofed City and a sporty Turbo variant, got in touch with one of the aforementioned European specialists to devise the cabriolet, set for a 1984 unveiling.
Pininfarina made their reputation on convertibles. In the early ‘80s, they were involved in manufacturing them for Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Fiat, Peugeot and, most recently, Talbot. That last one was especially notable, as the Talbot Samba was very similar to the Honda City, being a small FWD hatchback. And PF seems to have basically applied the same solutions for the City that they did for the Samba, with that “basket handle” anti-rollover bar and that overall chunky appearance.
One difference with the Talbot was the rear window, which in the Honda was made of glass – a much better solution on the long run. The design was made in Italy, but the bodies were made by former aircraft maker (and now Mitsubishi-owned) Toyo Koki in Gifu. The body kit used for the Turbo II, minus the bulging hood, was adapted for the Cabriolet, although the car was only given the standard-issue 1.2 litre OHC 4-cyl. producing 67hp, as opposed to the Turbo’s 100hp.
A 3-speed auto or, as in our feature car, a 5-speed manual were available. Vinyl upholstery could be ordered, but most Japanese clients preferred the cloth kind that we see here.
Dearer that the Turbo II, the Cabriolet reigned at the apex of the City range, though its extra 100kg weight made it the slowest of the breed. It’s legally a four seater, but the rather straight rear seatback, due to the space needed for the fabric top, coupled with the limited legroom, would make it more of a 2+2 anywhere but on the JDM.
Nevertheless, the appeal of a domestic drop-top was such that the City Cabriolet, only produced for two years, ushered a welcome return of the mass-produced convertible in Japan. According to some Japanese sources, without Honda’s humble City Cabriolet, perhaps Mazda would not have attempted the Miata, and Honda might not have done the Beat or the 2000. Small by size yet huge by influence, our City Cabriolet.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1985 Honda City (FA) Turbo II – Hey Bulldog, by T87
CC Capsule: 1981-86 Honda City – They Grow Up So Fast!, by William Stopford
One of the tragedies within the US market was the inability of American buyers to embrace these terrific little cars. I have written more than one praise over my decade with the Ford Festiva LX and I personally know that although is a car capable of doing everything demanded of it – you feel threatened driving it around city traffic in the US. Today, with the SUV boom – we are further away from capable, affordable sensible cars more than ever before.
This is a great little car – the blister fenders work. The color – LOOK, a car with COLOR – works, and it is a good fun performer, especially with the top down.
Even compared to Honda today – this car is too small on the outside. When we complain about the cost of vehicles – remember a time when cars didn’t have to be expensive bloated things with blind spots requiring cameras to see around.
Up here in RI we have legions of those little plastic moped-powered two-seater squish buggies, rented out to tourists. At least they are equipped with fiberglass-whipped flags to tell SUV drivers what to hit…er, avoid…
Seriously thinking of putting one on my Miata…at least every time I am near some testosterone-overloaded pickup or a huuge Battlestar Impractica.
Well, I think it’s cute…and the black and white upholstery reminds me of the shirt worn by at least one of the members of Madness in their iconic Honda City commercial from the 1980s.
Too bad this one doesn’t seem to have the optional motor scooter. I was just reading today that Honda has “revived” the Motocompo as the “Motocompacto”. Now, if you want to see a goofy looking thing… Here it looks like the poor girl is riding some sort of giant office supply or Macbook charger.
I guess it would match the City in VanillaDude’s comment rather well.
Are the doors dropping on the little red featured car?
Seriously though, how is the Honda still in use and in reasonable condition after 37 years?
What a cute little thing .
Still looks in good shape, the cockpit certainly looks cramped to me .
My understanding of why these never came to the U.S.A. is can’t pass any crash tests .
-Nate
To me, this is just about the most desirable car I’ve seen on CC in weeks. Bubbly little 4 pot with 5 speed, top down motoring and the all the cuteness that modern cars just can’t seem to find. I’m sure they fetch a mighty premium, and fair enough. Lovely car!
Sad these never got to the “states”. Looks awesome , even in “2023”.
I’d wonder if the VW Golf Cabriolets were popular in the JDM for that reason. It’s kinda “cute” (and the Japanese like kawaii – cuteness).
I think they may prefer the original Mini in droptop form. The Mini has been popular in Japan for a long time and both fits the kawaii bill and Japanese parking.
U.S. roof crush standards (49 CFR 571.216) DID briefly outlaw convertibles in the early ’70s, but before that regulation took effect, automakers (as I recall, principally Chrysler) sued the NHTSA, contending that by effectively outlawing a specific class or type of vehicles, the agency had exceed its statutory authority. A federal court agreed, and the regulation was revised to include an express exemption for convertibles, which remains. So, it was a much nearer thing than many accounts tend to imply.
Very interesting – I had no idea!
+1
Thank you for the education, Aaron-sensei!
I love these and finally have the opportunity to beat Pete to the punch with a CC in scale that I built around ’86 (Tamiya kit) and still graces my shelf…These little Hondas are durable.
Using the turbo body with the wide fenders gives it far more personality and distinctiveness than it would have had with the normal body, not that there’s anything wrong with that one either.
Pininfarina certainly must have acquired a Karmann VW Cabriolet before basically copying it for both the Samba and the City, it seems to be the exact same formula…
I don’t usually share your love of flared fenders, but it really works in this particular instance. Without them, the City cabrio would look emaciated.
I think the closest thing in the US market was the Geo Metro convertible — and whenever one of those comes up on the market, they usually sell quickly.
Later Kei cars have generally been taller, which reduces the cuteness factor considerably, but makes them more visible on the road. I have a ’64 Corvair, which is not super short in length, but it is very low, and people turn left in front of me all the time — I think because they are looking above me and don’t see me right away.
One challenge facing any carmaker trying to bring really tiny cars back to the US market is to design an electric version with adequate range. The Fiat 500e had only an 85 mile range new, and I think the electric “Mini”, which is still being sold, is not much better — and both of them are a size bigger than Kei cars and the original Mini.
I know of one of these still on the road here and not many are left Honda rep for being easy to modify past the handling capabilities of the base car has seen most vanish into the scrap industry, turbos are worth a bomb and very rare here now