Here’s a different approach to either: a.) lightening you car; b.) showing off your green Vtec engine; or c.) keeping your engine well washed in our rainy winters.
Honda del Sols are not all that common anymore, and I first saw from the rear. The six holes cut into the bumper should have been a tip-off as to this owner’s desire to cut out unnecessary weight. Or just look different. (I just noticed the similar-vintage Civic hatch parked in front of it. Coincidence? In Eugene, not an uncommon one).
This is the first time I’ve seen this done, using the inner half of the hood by itself. And I rather like it, given the context.
Reminds me some of the transparent 1939 Pontiac “Ghost Car”, although it had a plexiglass skin, which was a hot new product at the time.
Or the Centre Pompidou.
Only the Si version came with the 1.6 L VTEC, but since there’s no obvious badging it’s hard to know if this the original engine or not. Probably so. And if so, it would have made 125 hp @6600 rpm. The green paint undoubtedly adds at least ten hp.
William Stopford did a post on the Del Sol here last spring, so I won’t get too long winded here, except to say that it was the successor to the CRX but never really took off. But its top can take off, automatically, in the case of the optional TransTop (not available in US) as seen here in this video posted in the comments on that article. Americans had to content themselves with a simple manual removal of the top panel. Seem like less to go wrong.
Now if only a Honda Jazz was parked here.
Well it does make the del Sol a lot less feminine, I’ll give him that. Kind of a neat look.
Can’t imagine it being a good idea in the rain though.
Wonder if the owner’s in the middle of a carbon-fiber hood replacement? I did about the opposite of this with my ’82 Cavalier by removing the structure from under the hood skin as part of aggressively lightening the car.
Its been slowered so the outer skin is probably having vents scoops and louvres inserted to further slow it down.
You want to see a Honda Jazz? Here’s one, but parked on my back lawn.
Maybe the sizzle of the raindrops hitting hot engine components adds to the ambiance of driving the car?
I would love to see a before and after comparison of drag coefficients.
Wow, those are some roached license plates on those Hondas, but hey, that is what 25 years will do. Both these Hondas look nice and I hope they stay on the road decades more though I am a bit concerned about the longevity of the Del Sol; maybe I am just stereotyping Ricers though. Do you think that is the original paint on the Del Sol?
The owners solution to high under hood temps, thereby improving the function of the cold air intake.
Never have seen something like that before…. but I’m oddly intrigued by it. I would figure out how to make some sort of clear covering for the holes to prevent water or object ingestion into the engine, but still allow for the visibility of the engine. Kind of like an extreme version of the Supercharger window on the ZR1.
I’d wonder about poorly sealed electrical components getting wet in the event of rain. It is sort of neat-looking…
THAT particular Del Sol is disgraceful, and what is typically found where I live in Ohio. The type of cars, where the driver used to get a real good look at the tail lights of my 4-barrel, V-8, 1980 Chevy Malibu 2-door.
The actual factory-designed Del Sol was a neat little roadster. They weren’t popular, and if Honda was trying to replace the CRX with them, then that would explain why they didn’t succeed.
Two-Seater cars are really more of the “niche” markets. Most people, even those without children, like to drive around and be able to carry more than one person in their vehicle.
I went through this common hassle, when I was younger. I had plenty of friends, and a Pontiac Fiero. Though, I did try to fit 3 other carbon-based lifeforms in it with me. The result was an Ohio State Patrolman pulling me over, on U.S. 422, and giving me a thorough butt-chewing about seatbelts and vehicle safety regulations. No ticket, thank God.