Honda introduced the first Integra Type R to the Japanese market in 1995 and built the DC2 through 2001. It took the B18C VTEC engine, a close-ratio five-speed gearbox and a limited-slip differential, then cut equipment and added chassis stiffening. Journalists rated it among the best front-wheel-drive cars made.
The Honda S2000 is a front-mid engine, rear-wheel-drive open-top sports car manufactured by Honda from 1999 to 2009. It launched on April 15, 1999, to mark Honda’s 50th anniversary. Its name honours the 1960s S-series roadsters and its two-litre engine. It holds the record for highest specific power output of any mass-production naturally aspirated car until 2010. It was tested on race tracks and mountain roads. Development followed classic Honda engineering values, not marketing input.
The Honda S500 is Honda’s first passenger automobile and first production sports car. Launched in October 1963, it followed the T360 truck by four months. It used a 531 cc DOHC straight-4 engine producing 44 hp at 8000 rpm, a four-speed manual transmission, and four-wheel independent suspension with chain-driven rear wheels. It exceeded kei car regulations in dimensions and displacement. 1,363 units were built between October 1963 and September 1964. It was priced at $1,275 in 1963.
The Honda CR-X (1983) redefined what a compact front-wheel-drive car could do — not by adding power or luxury, but by removing mass and complication. It was never a sports car in form or intent. It was a Civic sharpened for feedback, visibility, and agility. Its global variations — two-seat in North America, 2+2 elsewhere — show Honda’s willingness to tailor packaging without fragmenting engineering. It changed expectations for economy cars: they could be fun to drive, not just efficient to own.
The Honda Beat is a kei-class, two-seater roadster with rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, designed by Pininfarina and produced by Honda from May 1991 to February 1996; approximately 33,600 units were built. It features a 656 cc three-cylinder engine with MTREC technology, a 5-speed manual transmission, disc brakes on all four wheels, and was marketed exclusively in Japan as 'Midship Amusement'.
The 1997 Honda Civic Type R (EK9) is the origin point of Honda’s Type R line — a JDM-only, naturally aspirated, front-wheel-drive hot hatch built on the sixth-generation Civic platform. It introduced the core Type R principles: weight reduction, chassis stiffening, engine tuning, upgraded brakes and suspension, manual-only transmission, and red Honda badging. Produced in 16,000 units between 1997 and 1999, it used a hand-ported 1.6 L DOHC VTEC B16B engine, seam-welded monocoque, helical LSD, and Recaro seats.
The Honda NSX (1990) is a two-seater sports car manufactured by Acura. Masahito Nakano was Chief Designer of the first generation, produced from 1990 until 2006. It launched as a two-door coupé, later adding a targa top variant. It has a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and a transversely-mounted naturally-aspirated V6 engine.
The first-generation Honda NSX is a Japanese-built, mid-engine, two-seater sports car introduced in 1991. It was the first production car with an all-aluminium semi-monocoque, using a revolutionary extruded aluminium alloy frame and suspension components. This construction saved nearly 200 kg over steel in the body and 20 kg in the suspension. It featured an independent 4-channel ABS, electric power steering, and a suspension compliance pivot that maintained near-zero wheel alignment change. Its 3.0 L V6 engine was DOHC 24-valve and non-VTEC in early production, later upgraded to VTEC.
The Honda S800 is a 1965 sports car built to prove Honda could engineer a high-revving, lightweight, chain-driven automobile capable of 100 mph. It replaced the S600 as Honda’s image car. It was available as a roadster or coupe. Early units used chain drive and independent rear suspension. Just 994 chain-drive examples were built. Its 791 cc straight-4 produced 70 hp at 8,000 rpm and revved to 10,000 rpm.