Classy coupe with tech to match

in 1982 that this car achieved the success that it really deserved.

Although it featured pop- up headlights, a smooth 1.8- litre engine and a lot of refinement, its most powerful ace was four- wheel- steering.

Honda had a reputation for quiet progress towards fast, cultured and understated premium motoring, and this dramatic new technological development somehow gave the brand a jet- propelled boost that it was hardly used to.

The writing was on the wall with this car because not only had it upped the ante in the coupe market, it also shared design cues that would be seen on Honda’s practical supercar, the NSX that would appear later in 1989.

It was almost as if the company was flexing its muscles for much more exciting things to come.

The four- wheel steering system was amazing for its time. You could drive for miles without noticing it, but gradually you became aware of heightened responsiveness and a complete absence of body roll when cornering.

Of course, the system had its critics, some doubting its worth, but the Honda system demonstrated simple mechanical ingenuity rather than electrohydraulic complication. However, on a later version the mechanical four- wheel- steering system gave way to a sophisticated electronic set up. Without doubt one of the best designed coupes of its day.