Speed Freak
John Romero's 1.5L, 200 MPH Civic
Text By Ryan McKay, Photography by Henry Z. Dekuyper
This 200-plus mph Honda Civic is just the latest manifestation of John Romero's addiction. In fact, when he went to work as AEM's lead engineer back in 2002, he was already showing signs of being a speed junkie. Lusting after a car that could exceed 200mph but unable to afford one, he resorted to drastic measures and was in the early stages of building a B-series powered CRX to pilot past the mythical 200mph barrier. But, as cool as it would be to see an old CRX flying across the desert at 200-plus, the speed gods had other plans.
In 2004, this 2001 Civic landed in Romero's lap (or garage in this case). The car had served AEM bravely during its career as a showcar, but the life of a demo car is short, and apparently, one of the perks of working for AEM is getting free cars. Given the choice of using the '01 instead of the older CRX to get his 200mph fix, Romero made the obvious choice. With the '01 Civic as his new stash, this speed junkie went on a binge, building the car in an 18-month stint.
It takes a lot of horsepower to make a car go 200mph, and the heart of this 200mph car is obviously its engine. If you were expecting to see some type of bored and stroked Honda shortblock under the hood of this stallion, you'd be partially right. But it might not be what you think. Not only is the treatment the engine received unusual, the powerplant choice itself was unconventional.
While some people swap newer engines with more displacement (and power) into cars to go faster, Romero took a different approach and actually dropped in a de-bored (to an itty-bitty 1,479cc) B16A. Not only is this engine smaller than the original but it's older, too! Why would he make his engine SMALLER to go faster you ask? It's simple: he had no choice.
For the full story, along with more pictures and specs, pick up the September 2006 issue of Import Tuner Magazine, on sale at your local newsstand now!
By Ryan McKay
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