Civic Si Coupe

Make
Honda
Segment
Coupe

There hasn't really been a lot said about the new Honda Civic Si, but that's all going to change come the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show. The auto show sent out a press release intended to pump up journalists for the "more than 50 vehicle debuts" happening there. Buried in that press release was news that a "turbocharged Civic Si from Honda" would be making its world debut at the show. While the news is welcome it's not all that surprising. There are only two Civics left to roll out, and the Type R still exists only in "prototype" form.

The current 1.5-liter turbo available in the Civic makes 174 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque, although that number jumps to 180 horsepower in the Sport trim. (That trim is only currently available on the hatchback model, though.) The last Civic Si made 205 hp and 174 lb-ft of torque. It's safe to say the new version will easily eclipse those numbers. The 1.5-liter turbo in the Civic is also in the 2017 CR-V, the first time the iconic crossover has featured forced induction. In the CR-V it's tuned to make 190 horsepower and 179 lb-ft of torque. When we interviewed the Civic's head engineer, Mitsuru Kariya, at the 2016 Paris Motor Show we learned that the automaker wasn't really into chasing crazy power numbers.

As such, don't expect the turbocharged Civic Si to make insane power figures. Somewhere between 220-230 horsepower sounds about right to us. What also sounds right is that it will be a coupe. The spy shots we've seen show a camouflaged two-door out for testing. But Honda could always pull a last-minute switcheroo, right? Well, yeah, but we don't think that will happen. Here's why. The hatchback is the sportiest Civic available right now, but the Type R is taking that form. Would Honda really want to trot out three five-doors, two of which are designed for performance? We think not. As it stands now the coupe is the odd man out in the Civic lineup. It's pricier than the sedan but less practical.

Despite being a couple hundred bucks cheaper than the five-door hatch it's down on performance and space as well. Making the Si a two-door would differentiate it from the Type R and help drive attention to the standard coupe. That's the only thing about the Si we're really sure on. As for the rest of the details, well we'll just have to wait until LA kicks off to find those out.