According to the seller, today’s Nice Price or No Dice Del Sol is in “showroom condition.” Of course, that would have be a showroom not in the U.S., as this version of the targa-top two-seater was never sold here. Let’s see what such exclusivity might be worth.
The 1971 Volvo P1800 we looked at last Friday had been heavily modified by its seller, with the inspiration, they said, having come from the Internet. Despite that crowd-sourced influence, the result didn’t exhibit universal appeal amongst all of you. Add on to that a not-insubstantial $34,000 asking price, and things just went downhill from there. The result was an overwhelming 96 percent No Dice loss.
When Mazda introduced the MX-5 Miata to the world, it engendered a wave of nostalgia for traditional British roadsters to a whole generation of buyers, many of whom faked it as they were too young to have been around for the original experience. Being as successful as it was, the Miata gave rise to a spate of competition from other car makers, none of which was able to capture the same genie in the bottle as Mazda.
Honda’s entry into the Miata-like mix was the de Sol, a targa-topped two-seater leveraging many of the same parts under the skirts as the Civic upon which it was based. The car was nominally a successor to the two-seat CRX, but it played to a different market, being a good bit larger and somewhat wonkier owing to its open-top body.
Honda sold the del Sol globally, but the U.S. was left out of the model’s best party trick. That’s the optional “TransTop” automatic Targa delivery and retraction system. That cool feature levitates the boot lid to roof level on an extendable gantry and then either sucks in or spits out the Targa top depending on which way the dash-top switch is thrown.
This 1993 Honda del Sol SiR is a JDM model with the TransTop and is claimed to be in showroom-fresh condition. I’m not quite sure about that description since the car wears aftermarket tail lamp clusters and chrome-plated wheels that allow views of the rattle canned-red brake calipers. Aside from those blemishes, the 60,000-mile car looks to be ladably original and very clean.
Power comes from a 1.6-liter VTEC four, which is paired with a five-speed stick driving the front wheels as it does when doing its Civic duty. New Toyo tires ensure the engine’s 168 ponies are put to good use. Of course, making that happen will require some remapped muscle memory since this is a right-hand-drive car, meaning gear changes are left-handed affairs.
At least the cabin looks like a decent place to learn such behaviors. The upholstery and plastics all look to have held up well, and there’s no evidence of the seal leaking that typically plagues these cars as they age.
The bodywork also presents very well, and while many of the photos in the ad have date stamps from 2011 on them, it’s more likely that the person taking the pictures simply didn’t want to be bothered with updating the date. According to the ad, the car is registered in Connecticut and comes with a clean title.
What might something as unique as this del Sol be worth? The seller asks $25,000, which is top of the heap for a privately imported TransTop car but might make sense in this topsy-turvy car market.
What do you say, is $25,000 a fair price for a “showroom condition” TransTop del Sol? Or is that price just too over the top?
You decide!
Stonington, Connecticut, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to whatsupdohc for the hookup!
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