It’s hard to think of a good reason to only have one engine in your car if having two is a possibility. At least that was the thought process of Car and Driver when they created the CR-X² in the 1980s that is now for sale on Bring a Trailer. This one’s a fun tale, so sit down and grab some popcorn.
This car began innocently enough as a run-of-the-mill 1984 Honda CR-X finished in Greek White with a 1.5L inline four-cylinder engine mounted up front. It didn’t take long before Car and Driver editor Don Sherman had the wacky idea of turning the bog-standard CR-X into a CR-X with twice the engine, twice the power, and twice the fun.
“I saw how tidy the driveline was in the CR-X. And the thought occurred to me, why not two of them?” Sherman said.
Related: Joe Rogan’s new Tesla Model S Plaid pushes customization to the extreme
bugnbox/Bring a Trailer
The project begins with official blessings from Honda
Car and Driver partnered with Honda themselves to get a second 1.5L inline four-cylinder engine, a three-speed automatic transaxle, as well as all of the wiring and mechanicals needed for a dual powertrain car. The magazine staffers employed the expertise of the Los Angeles-based shop Racing Beat to actually put everything together before the car appeared in a May 1985 article dubbed “Synchronicity.”
CR-X² proved to be as reliable as a Honda of that era was expected to be, with track testing resulting in a 0-60 time of 8 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 16 seconds at 85 mph.
bugnbox/Bring a Trailer
Related: It turns out that Akio Toyoda was right
CR-X² gets upgraded
In October 1985, a follow-up article dubbed “Super Synchronicity” hit the newsstands, detailing the evolution of CR-X². Rather than the stock 1.5L inline four-cylinder mills, the car was fitted with a Mugen body kit and twin 1.8L inline-fours paired with four-speed automatic transaxles from a Honda Accord. New tests yielded a 6.2-second 0-to-60 run and a quarter-mile time of 14.5 seconds at 95 mph.
Following its Car and Driver ownership, CR-X² changed hands a few times between the late 1980s and early 1990s before being acquired by the seller in 2022. He began a cosmetic refurbishment process that was documented on their Carchaeology YouTube. The work performed included custom CR-X² graphics, repainting the exterior trim black, and paint touch-ups at the rear to correct damage from shipping.
Car and Driver and even Jay Leno took the car for a drive in December 2024.
bugnbox/Bring a Trailer
Related: Genesis GV80 Desert Edition: Is this luxury SUV ready for Dakar?
Final thoughts
There are no words short of “cool” and “astonishing” to describe CR-X². A CR-X on its own is a fantastic throwback to 80s Hondas, but one with a Mugen kit and twin 1.8L inline-four cylinder engines is in another universe. We can’t even begin to guess how one would put a price on such a project, but it’s likely one of those things where it’s worth as much as what someone is willing to pay for it.
The Bring a Trailer auction ends in four days, with the bid currently at $22,500. Much like other auctions we’ve written about before, we have but one request to the future owner: can we drive it?
Related: Toyota’s $10B Woven City: From sci-fi dream to reality
