Honda Civic Si Production Will Be Paused. Here's Why And What It Means For You

A leaked email shows that production of the Honda Civic Si and its platform mate, the Acura Integra A-Spec, will pause at the end of the model year.

The email was allegedly sent from management to employees at the Aliston plant in Ontario, Canada.

What The Email Says

The email reads: “Due to evolving business conditions surrounding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations required to certify 2027 MY and beyond, Honda has made the decision to pause the production of the trims that utilize the 1.5-liter turbocharged engine paired to the 6-speed manual transmission (6MT) at the conclusion of the 2026 model year.

Impacted trims include the HCM built Civic Si and the Acura Integra A-Spec Tech.

There will be no negative impact to HCM production volume with this change. The Civic Si trim will be replaced with other Civic MOTC types.

As EPA regulations become clear, Honda will assess how best to proceed with the impacted trims.

Dealer inventory for these impacted trims will be monitored for impact towards Associate purchase and the HAVP program.”

Sounds scary, right? Like the Si and A-Spec might be going away?

Well, Honda has a response.

What Honda Is Saying

Here’s what Honda PR sent me after I reached out for clarification: “Due to evolving business conditions, production of the 1.5-liter turbocharged engine paired to the 6-speed manual transmission (6MT) will be paused at the conclusion of the 2026 model year. In the U.S., this powertrain is available in the Honda Civic Si and Acura Integra A-Spec. Importantly, Honda and Acura currently plan for both trims to return to the lineup and American Honda expects to share more details at the appropriate time. Based on current forecasts, American Honda expects dealer inventory to remain available into early 2027.”

So that makes it pretty clear that the Si and A-Spec trims will return, though we have no idea when - it’s possible they’d miss the 2027 model year. It also appears that if you want an Honda Civic Si or Acura Integra A-Spec, you have some time, but not a lot, to get one.

What’s less clear is what will happen to the powertrain. Honda doesn’t confirm that the 1.5-liter engine or the manual transmission will return. The cars could have a different engine - possibly, even a hybrid - and perhaps an automatic transmission. In fact, a hybrid likely would be paired with an automatic.

On the other hand, the popularity of these vehicles is, in part, based on the fact that they’re among the remaining few affordable sports cars offering a manual. Honda might be unwilling to stop selling manuals, even though manual transmissions are a market rarity these days, if the availability of a clutch pedal is part of what sells these cars.

It’s also possible that there won’t be big powertrain changes - it might simply be an EPA certification issue that needs to be ironed out, and once it is, the 1.5 and stick will return.

It’s all in the wording. “Due to evolving business conditions” sounds, to the pessimist, like Honda is concerned the stick-shift won’t sell anymore and is canceling it, or that the cost to build a manual isn’t justified, even if the Si is desirable because it comes with a manual.

It’s also possible, since the Si and A-Spec are manual-only at present, that they will return with a manual standard but an automatic-transmission option. Perhaps Honda knows that offering that option can increase sales, since fewer and fewer folks can even drive a stick.

The higher-performance Civic Type R and Acura Integra Type-S will continue in production, with and continue to have manual transmissions.

Your author, a dedicated fan of dedicated compact sport sedans with manual transmissions, hopes the Si and A-Spec will continue to offer a stick. The Si is a wonderful car with excellent performance that doesn’t require the ride and comfort sacrifices of the Type R. And it’s much cheaper.

Meanwhile, the A-Spec costs more than the Si but it’s more luxurious and offers a hatchback. It’s just as fun to drive, if not more so.

The world is also losing small, sporty cars with stickshifts. The Volkswagen Jetta GLI is on the chopping block - the whole Jetta lineup might be. The Volkswagen GTI and Golf R have ditched the stick. That leaves the Subaru WRX and Hyundai Elantra N, along with the Honda/Acura pair, as the last stick-shift stalwarts in the segment. Even then, the Elantra N is available with an automatic, as is the Subie - and the Subie forces buyers of certain trims to go clutchless.

Stay tuned on this one, #savethemanual types.

Images: Honda, Reddit

About The Author

Tim Healey is an experienced automotive writer and editor from Chicago. He has covered automotive news at Consumer Guide Automotive, Web2Carz, AutoGuide, and was the managing editor at The Truth About Cars. Tim is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association. You can find him on Facebook, X/Twitter, and on LinkedIn.