1997 Honda CR-X - Del Sol 1.6 ESi

Number of cylinders: 4

Service history: Present

Honda CRX Del Sol 1.6 ESi, 1997. One owner, 48,954 km, service books from new.

In the '90s, Honda had something most manufacturers only dared to claim in their brochures: the courage to build exactly what the engineers found fun, and to quietly skip consulting the rest of the boardroom. These were the years of the VTEC, of engines that only truly woke up at 8,000 rpm, of a brand that won Formula 1 on Sunday afternoon and sold a Civic on Monday morning to the lady next door who never had to lift a finger for it. Reliability and fun in one package, back then that was almost a contradiction. Not at Honda.

And then there was the CRX del Sol. Officially the successor to the ordinary CRX, in practice a creature entirely its own. Two seats, a Targa roof you lift out of the whole by hand and stow in the boot, and a silhouette that still looks as though it was penned last week. Some people found it too sweet to count as a sports car. Those same people have never driven a del Sol with the roof off along a winding country lane on a spring evening in May, so their opinion is hereby declared null and void.

The ESi on offer here comes with the 1.6 sixteen-valve, good for 125 bhp. No VTEC howler to rattle your kidneys loose, but exactly enough to press on nicely without risking your licence every time. Manual, of course. A del Sol with an automatic is like an espresso with a splash of water added: technically still coffee, but why on earth would you.

The story continues on our website, where the full file is kept as well. 99 photographs including the underside. The service history, scanned in full. Paint thickness measured panel by panel. The original factory brochure to page through. A timeline from 24 March 1997 to today, with every owner and the mileage year by year in a single graph.

Every car here follows the same route: first pre-market, then the showroom, and finally the live auction on our own site. What changes is the way you buy, not the location — once a car has arrived, it stays with us in Katwijk. This one is in the showroom and you are welcome to come and see it, no appointment needed. You buy it here at a fixed price: no bidding, no waiting. Our showroom in Katwijk, 30 km from Amsterdam Schiphol, is open Mon–Fri 9–18 and Sat 10–17. Call ahead and it will be standing ready, with someone free for you.

Within the EU no customs duty arises on this purchase. Registration tax and registration costs in your own country are not included. We supply the export documents and assist with the registration. The price shown is the full price for collection in Katwijk. We arrange insured door-to-door transport worldwide, cost quoted per destination beforehand.

Prefer a different colour or specification than this example? Tell us what you are looking for — another Honda we can often find through our network of marque specialists and collectors, outside the listings. Have one of your own: we buy exceptional cars outright, classic or modern.

Our showroom measures 6,000 m², with over 150 cars under one roof. You are just as welcome if you are not buying — walk around, take your time and enjoy the cars; sharing the enthusiasm is half of it.