Honda took the wraps off the new Civic Si concept at the 2005 Chicago Auto Show. Pretty nice looking overall. Especially compared to the mini-minivan looking thing they sell as the Si now. I like the carbon fiber hood look they’re going for by painting it black.

The engine will be VTEC goodness, rated at 200hp with a 8000-rpm redline, hooked to a close-ratio 6-speed manual. Gotta love the VTEC.

Especially cool, they plan to offer 18″ rims, Brembo calipers and cross-drilled rotors, and a helical limited slip differential. The LSD will be a welcome addition, because on a front-driver it solves two big problems: torque steer; the car’s tendency to pull to the side on a hard, high-rpm shift, and in hard cornering, the car’s tendency to lose speed by bogging down on the inside front tire.

I’m not big on the wing, as I am a staunch supporter of the “Wings are for Faeries” school, but a small lip spoiler or something would almost be necessary in it’s place, to reduce the visual size of the large sloping rear end, another Honda/Acura styling cue I am not a big fan of. Think Accord coupe 1998-on and it’s Acura counterpart the CL (1997-on).