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Honda to Debut Civic Si at Chicago Auto Show

4 February 1999

Honda to Debut Civic Si at Chicago Auto Show

    TORRANCE, Calif., Feb. 4 -- An all-new Civic Si, a
performance version of the car that has helped spawn a new generation of hot
rodders, will debut at the Chicago Auto Show on February 10, American Honda
Motor Company announced today.
    It has been four years since Honda last offered a Si version of the
popular Civic in the American market.  The new Si will be based on the Civic
Coupe and feature a 160-horsepower, DOHC VTEC 4-cylinder engine, aggressive
styling and a performance-tuned suspension.  The new Civic Si will be on
display along with several consumer-owned  "hot rod" versions of Civic models
representative of the current performance trend.
    "The Honda Civic is the '57 Chevy of the next millennium and the VTEC
engine is the new small block," says Oscar Jackson, president of Jackson
Racing, a supplier of aftermarket performance parts for Honda and other makes.
"The performance market is sweeping the country, with kids doing everything
from turbocharging their engines to adding body kits, custom graphics and new
wheels as a way to express their personalities through their cars."
    Sharing the Honda exhibit with the Civic Si will be two models arriving in
dealer showrooms later this year, the S2000 roadster and the Honda hybrid,
code-named V V.  Slated to be the first hybrid electric vehicle on sale in the
U.S, the V V will be the most fuel-efficient gasoline-powered car in the
world, achieving a combined city/highway mileage rating of more than 70 miles
per gallon.