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The 10 Coolest Features of the Honda Del Sol

Honda’s Del Sol paired a hardtop coupe with open-air driving. These 10 features explain how its roof, rear window, VTEC engines, suspension and cabin made it unusual.
Entry086 Date Time4 min MechanicCarCody Team
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The Honda Del Sol was designed as an “open-coupe”: a two-seat sports car that could feel like a coupe with its hard roof in place, then open up for fresh air. Honda built that idea into more than the roof, with a power rear window, a special powered roof option, sporty suspension, and a cockpit shaped around the car’s unusual layout.

Honda introduced the car in Japan in 1992 as the CR-X delsol; in the United States it was marketed as the Civic del Sol. The equipment and names varied by market, model year, and trim, so the specifications below are identified as Honda’s Japanese-market launch details.

What made the Del Sol different?

Honda described the 1992 CR-X delsol as a unique two-seat sports car that brought together the benefits of open and coupe body packages in one vehicle. That “open-coupe” idea explains why its features work as a system: the hard roof, retractable-roof mechanism, power rear glass, and wind-conscious details all let the driver change the cabin without making the car a conventional fabric-top convertible.

The 10 coolest features of the Honda Del Sol

1. It aimed to be both a coupe and an open car

The Del Sol’s central trick was offering two distinct cabin modes in one small two-seater. With the roof in place, Honda intended the car to retain coupe-like qualities; remove or retract it, and the cabin opened to the sky. Rather than treating the roof as an isolated novelty, Honda designed the rest of the package around that transformation.

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2. A hard roof instead of fabric

Honda chose a hard roof to pursue the weather resistance, durability, and sound insulation associated with a coupe. Those were Honda’s stated design aims, not a published comparative test against fabric-top cars. The hard panel also made a removable-roof storage solution possible.

3. TransTop could move the roof into the trunk

On a specified Japanese-market SiR configuration, Honda offered TransTop, a powered roof system operated from inside the cabin. In Honda’s described sequence, the trunk lid rises, a mechanism engages the roof, and the panel retracts into the trunk area. It was a special configuration—not equipment fitted to every Del Sol.

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4. A manually removable roof had its own holder

Honda also offered a manually removable hard roof. The company described the panel as lightweight aluminum and provided an in-trunk roof holder designed to leave luggage space accessible. That gave owners a non-powered way to switch to open-air driving while still accounting for where the roof would go.

5. A power rear window made airflow adjustable

The rear glass could be raised or lowered electrically, so drivers could change airflow with the roof still fitted. It added an intermediate option between a fully enclosed cabin and removing the roof altogether.

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6. Small details were intended to temper wind buffeting

Honda cited front quarter windows and mirrors mounted on the door skins as measures intended to reduce uncomfortable wind buffeting during open driving. The launch material describes the purpose, but does not quantify the effect.

7. The Japanese launch range included high-revving VTEC engines

Honda’s Japanese-market 1992 launch specifications listed two VTEC choices. The SiR had a 1,595 cm³ 1.6-liter DOHC VTEC rated at 170 PS at 7,800 rpm; the VXi had a 1,493 cm³ 1.5-liter VTEC rated at 130 PS at 6,800 rpm. These are Honda’s launch figures for those Japanese trims, not specifications for every market or model year.

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Japanese-market 1992 launch trim Engine Honda-rated output
SiR 1,595 cm³, 1.6-liter DOHC VTEC 170 PS at 7,800 rpm
VXi 1,493 cm³, 1.5-liter VTEC 130 PS at 6,800 rpm

8. Double-wishbone suspension at both ends

Honda specified double-wishbone suspension for both the front and rear and described its tuning as sporty. It is a chassis feature that gave the Del Sol’s identity substance beyond the roof: the car was presented as a sports car, not simply a small car with a removable panel.

9. A cockpit with a distinctive shape

Honda called the instrument panel “goggle-shaped” and listed integrated bucket seats. The rounded cabin design was intended to balance a sense of openness with a feeling of security—an apt design problem for a two-seater whose defining feature was opening the roof.

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10. Storage was considered despite the two-seat layout

Honda’s equipment list included a center-console box with a cup holder and a keyed personal box behind the seats. Along with the roof holder in the trunk, those features show how Honda tried to make the open-coupe concept usable in a compact cabin.

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How the two roof systems differed

Honda’s Japanese launch materials document a manual removable roof and a powered TransTop configuration. The manual roof was listed for the VXi and SiR; TransTop was shown for a specified SiR version.

Roof arrangement How it operated Where the roof went Launch availability in Japan
Manual removable hard roof Removed by hand In-trunk roof holder designed to preserve luggage access Listed for VXi and SiR
TransTop powered roof Operated from inside the cabin; trunk mechanism engaged and retracted the roof Retracted into the trunk area Specified SiR configuration

These descriptions refer to Honda’s 1992 Japanese-market launch information. They should not be read as a universal equipment guide for every Civic del Sol or CR-X delsol sold elsewhere or in later years.

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