In its heyday, the small and sporty 1984–1987 Honda CRX was a fairly common sight on this side of the Pacific, but as Honda fans know, the Japanese domestic market got some goodies that weren’t offered in the U.S. except by gray-market importers. When I saw these photos by Hyperpack at the CC Cohort, I thought for a moment that this “CR-X” might be one of those gray-market cars. It’s not, but here’s what I briefly thought it might be: the most desirable JDM version of the first-generation CRX.
A few words of explanation are probably in order if you only have a vague memory of the original Honda CRX. The first-generation CRX, sold here in the 1984 to 1987 model years, was a sporty two-seat version of the contemporary Civic three-door hatchback, with its wheelbase shortened by about 7 inches (18 centimeters, if you read the metric specifications). The CRX was a bit lighter than the Civic (though not by as much as you might think), and even more nimble. Back when survivors were more numerous, these cars were very popular in club racing, and their fans insist that none of the later generations were as much fun.
In Japan, the CRX was sold as the Ballade Sports CR-X. It was nominally based on the Honda Ballade, which was a JDM Civic derivative sold through the Honda Verno dealer network. (If you have trouble getting your head around these JDM “twins and triplets,” imagine if ’80s Ford and Mercury models were all badged as Fords, but still sold through separate dealer networks.) Despite the different name, one styling difference I’ll explain a little later, and of course right-hand drive, the early Ballade Sports CR-X wasn’t all that different than the Civic CRX we got.
Ahh, but perhaps you’ve noticed the “DOHC” lettering on the body-side cladding. The U.S. version of the first-generation CRX didn’t get any twin-cam engines — it used an assortment of 1.3- and 1.5-liter fours, all SOHC. The U.S. CRX didn’t even get a fuel-injected Si until mid-1985, using the injected version of the 1.5-liter 12-valve engine.
In Japan, it was a different story. In November 1984, Honda’s new 16-valve 1.6-liter DOHC ZC engine became optional on the CR-X and Civic Si, with Honda PGM-FI. Honda initially rated this engine at 135 PS, but the Japanese industry still used JIS gross ratings in 1984, so that was more like 115 PS net. However, the injected 12-valve 1.5-liter engine that had previously been the top CR-X engine had a gross rating of only 110 PS, so the DOHC ZC was considerably more powerful.
This was basically the same engine used in the first-generation Acura Integra, where it had 113 net horsepower, compared to 91 hp for the 1.5-liter injected 12-valve engine in the 1986 Civic Si. Even in Si trim, a CRX weighed only about 2,000 lb, so adding about 22 more horsepower gave its performance a real shot in the arm. Road & Track tried a gray-market CR-X Si DOHC in July 1985 and got 0 to 60 in 7.5 seconds; Car and Driver tested a different gray import that recorded 0 to 60 in just 7.2 seconds, giant-killing performance for 1985.
Honda could have federalized the twin-cam model very easily. Since the CRX was already sold in the U.S., it was mostly a matter of adding a few off-the-shelf items and doing a little fine-tuning of the PGM-FI engine controls for federal emissions compliance, which they would shortly have to do for the forthcoming Integra anyway. However, American Honda didn’t bother — maybe for price reasons, maybe to keep the CRX from treading too close to the Integra, who knows.
However, a few RHD twin-cam cars were imported by Jackson Racing, Deco Industries, and possibly a few others, so seeing an authentic CR-X Si DOHC with American license plates wasn’t impossible even in the ’80s. There may be a few more these days, now than they’re more than 25 years old.
The black car Hyperback spoted, alas, is NOT one of those. For a minute, it almost fooled me — aside from the badges and cladding, it even sports a set of Mugen wheels, a very popular item with JDM tuners of the ’80s. (In 2025, Mugen released a pricey modern reproduction set called the Glory Labs Edition.) However, a closer look revealed that this car is left-hand-drive, and the front end gives the game away.
Remember that I mentioned earlier that the JDM Ballade Sports CR-X had one important styling difference from the export Civic CRX? The Ballade had peculiar semi-retractable headlights with motorized “eyebrows.”
American Honda didn’t bother with those: 1984–1985 U.S. Civics had a fixed one-piece panel over the headlights.
The CR-X Si DOHC also had another minor stylistic distinction the SOHC cars lacked: a prominent bulge on one side of the hood.
The black car Hyperpack saw has neither of those features, just the plain 1984–1985 U.S. CRX front clip with sealed beam headlights and some aftermarket fog lamps. The black paint looks rather the worse for wear, and you’ll notice that the center section of the hood is flat.
What’s under the hood? No idea, but the sad likelihood is that it’s the 76 hp carbureted 12-valve 1.5-liter engine found in most 1984–1985 U.S. cars. Someone could install the D16A1 engine from a 1986 or 1987 Integra, although creating a true CR-X Si DOHC clone would be a little more elaborate than just an engine swap — As the owner noted in the comments below, it does indeed have an ex-JDM DOHC ZC engine. Honda also gave the DOHC cars a more aggressively bolstered driver’s seat, ventilated front discs with semi-metallic pads, an engine oil cooler, and a revised transaxle with equal-length half-shafts. All doable, if you have money and inclination, but it doesn’t look like the owner of this one went that far. It’s too bad: Any first-generation CRX is a fun car, but a DOHC Si, even a clone, would be in another league, and an exciting thing to find.
I don’t know if Hyperpack got a chance to talk to the owner, but judging by the photos, he seemed pretty dead to the world.
Related Reading
Curbside Classic/Vintage Review: 1984 Honda CRX – “Mind-Boggling. Simply Mind-Boggling” (by Paul N)
COAL: 1986 Honda CRX HF – The One That Got Away (by idiotking)
COAL: 1987 Honda CRX Si – A Roach By Any Name (by Ben Dinger)
Compact Cult Classic: The 1984-1991 Honda CRX (at Ate Up With Motor)
I so wanted a blue 1984 CR-X sI with sunroof but they retained their used car value even when beat to junk .
I’ve not sen one in years =8-( .
My son had a red one that had been badly wrecked and poorly repaired, it went like stink but chewed up tires quickly .
Some of the body panels were plastic and the poor repair job flexed one so badly it cracked repeatedly .
-Nate
Hyperpack never got to talk to the owner of that nice Honda that day.
I do recall having a few of these at Dad’s used car lot in Pennsylvania from ~1989-1997. I remember having a dark blue one at the lot, and I believe it was a stick car. It came through before I was old enough to legally drive, so I didn’t have any road driving impressions. I remember it had some rusty floors that we replaced and hacked into the car so it would pass PA State inspection.
The US CRX actually got the Si option for 1985, not 1986 (I’m sure you were aware of that). The ’85 Si still used the regular color options including blue, all with the silver/gray lowers and red stripe around the perimeter, but came with alloys with four sort of rectangle cutouts instead of the four-hole alloys and monochrome paint that defined 1986 and newer US market Si models.
Oops, mid-1985, you’re right.
They were very highly rated over here, too. Probably the first ‘breakthrough’ Honda car in fact.
WE had the advantage of RHD, but the tinworm ate them.
That head shot’s not ‘prepared’ – they all looked like a Swiss/Japanese watch inside. Most of our cars looked like they’d been home-cast in a child’s sandpit.
Taking a second look, those wheels somehow look like the modern “inside out” wheel motors that are sometimes used on prototype non axle driven ev’s.
I like ’em.
They actually came with outer covers that attach over the electric-motor-looking vanes, but I guess a lot of people leave those off, since the cooling vanes look more sci-fi without the covers.
What’s the thing in the center of the dashboard above the radio? Some aftermarket thing? Back in the day I had a plain 1986 CRX and it had a little storage compartment with a flip-up lid in the middle of the dashboard in that same spot.
When I bought the car new in the fall of 1985 I had thought of myself as a fairly conservative and conservative-looking person, however I remember the salesman actually telling me that I could keep my marijuana pipe and stash in that little storage compartment. LOL!
That is a JDM digital trip computer. The hot summer sun killed it though
Trip computer
I run endurance races in the northeast in a 1990 Mazda Miata. There are a few lucky guys with CRXs, and with the changes we can do to engine and suspension they’re absolute rocket ships – I’ve seen them walking away from Caymans. I don’t know if they’re are friendly to drive as the Miata, but they’re stupid fast.
I found this while I was stumbling across the internet. This is my car. The show was October 2025 at Vintage Restorations, hence the skeleton for Halloween vibes. I have had the car since 1997, I am second owner. The car was mothballed for a decade or more when we had kids. When I got it running again a few years ago to try to sell it, my son fell in love with it. We had a Greddy 92-95 SOHC D series turbo kit for it, but I unfortunately sold that off, as well as all my real Mugen wheels. These are the oddly more hard to find Rota Beat wheels. Vintage Restoration has a great, yearly car show, with a shop open house. My son loves the car shows, and has gone on to attend the local career and tech school for autobody repair. In a few years I plan to hand the little car down to him, and he wants to do a complete restoration of the car, as much as possible, given the parts rarity.
The digital dash, at night
It DOES have the JDM, 1.6L ZC engine in it, although currently rocking a red painted D16A1 valve cover since the brown paint on the ZC cover is peeling
Excellent! Thanks for filling in the blanks on this car.
Amazing to hear you still have it, and your son has taken a liking to it (fingers crossed mine does same). I have an 84 JDM Si in exactly the same colours waiting for a restoration, and that red 83 ballade sport in the photos above with the pop up lights is mine too. Best of luck with the CR-X 🙂
We also have a real steel, JDM bulged hood for the car, however it is in the basement undergoing rust repairs. This is from 20 some years ago when it looked nice with my Mugen MR5s.
Dash
CRX
At another show few years ago