1999 Honda Civic Si

When one considers the humble origin that is the 1974 Honda Civic, it is amazing what a long, strange trip it has been since for this import, a vehicle that has weaved itself into America’s automotive tapestry. Much as consumers did in the late 1970s, modern consumers associate the Civic nameplate with industry-leading fuel performance, uncompromising reliability, and aggressive pricing. However, from time to time, Honda energizes the line with an injection of energy. Once such shot of adrenaline is the 1999 Honda Civic Si.

The 1999 Honda Civic Si inspired youth all over the country that were hungry for something new. The 1999 Honda Civic Si was something new and served to set the table for the third-generation Honda Civic Sis. Not only did it run more efficiently than the Sis that had come before it, it reached that magical engine output milestone of 1-plus horsepower per cubic inch. This is remarkable when you consider that Honda Civic engineers were able to extract fuel performance of 26 mpg city and 31 mpg highway out of this setup.

In addition to the Civic del Sol-inspired 1.6-liter VTEC, the 1999 Honda Civic Si came loaded with high-output hardware. These included a tuned exhaust system, fully counterweighted crankshaft, tuned intake manifold, high-lift cam profiles, larger throttle body, strengthened connecting rods, low-friction/high-silicon pistons, a 10.2:1 compression ratio, and on and on.

The result of this hardware is what separated the 1999 Honda Civic Si from any other Civic that year, the performance awaiting you beyond the 6,000-rpm range, where it transformed from commuter to racer. In the Honda tradition, this “sleeper” just loved to surprise that guy on the other side. With an 8,000-rpm redline, this is an engine that acts more like a motorcycle than a car. If you love cars and have never driven a 1999 Honda Civic Si, you owe it to yourself to take one for a spin.