Back in the '80s, all the car mags hailed Honda's CRX as the sports car reborn. Of course some think a sports car needs a topless edition to be all that, and today's car represents the aftermarket's attempt to make the CRX so. Will that prove to make it something you might be in the market for?

Well, well, well. So it seems that while the answer is always Miata, yesterday's was an answer to a question nobody asked. Most of the derision was focused on the slusher between the seats, but its price did damage too as one of the conventions of Miata ownership is that it's supposed to be relatively cheap. As a staggering 93% of you pointed out, this one was not.

You've heard of Godzilla, and the other Monster Miatas, but have you ever seen a Lexus-powered one?

Dang but we've had a lot of white cars on the show this week. Don't worry, it's not like we've just suddenly adopted a keen appreciation of the Scandinavian aesthetic, it's just a color coincidence. It's also one that we're keeping alive today with this snuggly little .

Now, the eighties was an amazing time for cheap-seats sports cars, what with the Pontiac Fiero, Toyota MR2, and Ford EXP hitting the streets during the decade. The thing of it is, as great as each of those cars was, none hit the sports car nail on the head, and mostly because none of them came with a canvas roof. It would take waiting until the tail end of the decade for the Miata to arrive and make all other low-cost sports cars seem irrelevant.

Before that happened however, Honda's CRX seemed to be the spiritual successor to the sports car, if not its modern manifestation, and with the help of Southern California automotive head-chopper Straman Coachworks, a few managed to let the sun shine in too.

This particular Straman car rocks 163,000 miles but is said to be fully restored. It's also claimed to be:

#108 of 309 produced1 of only 50 left in the wild1 of only 7 Si models to be Straman'd1 of only 2 of those 7 to be painted white1 car full of 'old school hotness'

That's all well and good, but where these any good to begin with, and has the 'restoration' mucked it up? The answer to the first question is yes, these were pretty dang good cars, the Straman top-chopping having been pretty well engineered and constructed. The base REX Si was also one of the most engaging rides from the era.

As far as the work that's gone into it since, well, there's a new top, lowered springs and new struts, gold mesh Enkei wheels with new rubber, upgraded Integra brakes, a new clutch, and some engine work that should keep the car humming.

On the downside, the A/C is inoperative, but of course when the top is dropped who cares?

What you obviously will care about is the car's price, and that is $10,000. Ten gees is a substantial sum, but this is a unique and interesting car so perhaps it's worth that. What do you think, should somebody pay $10,000 for this Straman CRX? Or, is this Honda whose seller is huffing?

You decide!

out of Murray UT, or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to Alex Brady for the hookup!

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