The world of car creativity knows no bounds, and crazy builds are a way of life for a select few enthusiasts. While most of us chinwag about what we would do given the time, budget, and skill, very few go out and get it done. One of those few was tuner parts website Throtl, who went out and built a rear-wheel drive EK Honda Civic hatchback with a 500-horsepower turbo K20 engine.
Featured on Larry Chen’s YouTube channel, the car mostly looks like a highly modified widebody Civic, and doesn’t hint at its rear-drive conversion from the outside. Only the most keen Honda fans will notice the raised transmission tunnel to accommodate the S2000 drivetrain used for the conversion.
Although the car is running a totally different drivetrain configuration, the amount of change is shockingly minimal. Most of the stock metal is retained, with stealthy modifications made to accommodate the longitudinal engine. The stock dash is still in place, and the engine bay is largely unmodified. The magic of the conversion is in the hidden sheet metal; the transmission tunnel took a lot of massaging to fit the S2000 gearbox, and more space was carved out for the custom driveshaft. Oh, and it uses a modified rear subframe with modified rear hubs to accommodate the S2000 rear differential.
Rest assured, this Honda is no mere show car. Mickey Andrade, lead content creator for Throtl, has driven the car in Gridlife time attack, and at track days for fun. It’s seen real use, and is apparently difficult to drive thanks to its short wheelbase and high horsepower. It’s also severely under-tired at just a 245mm wide tire, which Andrade says will be upgraded in the future. Also, the car does sick burnouts.
There’s nothing better than a ridiculous car hidden underneath a relatively pedestrian body. This Civic ticks all of those boxes.
