For some people plain good is not enough. This Honda Civic EG hatchback started out as a clean fully restored car spec’d to resemble a JDM EG6 SiR. However, Rex Tan wasn’t satisfied with just a clean looking car, he wanted it be different. So began his EG project, the shell was sent to FM Garage for a showcar finish using PPG paint tinted to the color of Vanilla White.

With its minimalist color, the car isn’t a total screamer from the outside. The parts were more for lightening the car and adding a bit of a color contrast. Spoon Sports carbon fiber racing mirrors replaced the heavy stock side mirrors. A lightweight carbon fiber hood and rear bumper diffuser was especially custom made by Stage21, and the CF details were finished off with the Backyard Special front lip and rear wing.

Under the hood, this car is a totally different monster; the B16A engine that originally resided here was evicted in favor of a fully built K20/K24 Frankenstein engine complete with a plethora of go-fast parts put together by engine builder Bong Hilario of H3 Autoworks. The longblock is mated to an Xcessive intake manifold mated with an 80mm throttle body and BPI velocity stack, which breathes out to an SSR header with a 3-inch custom exhaust. It was mapped with a Hondata K-Pro ECU to the tune of 276 wheel horsepower and 190 lbs-ft of torque with a rev limit of 9,500 rpm with E85 fuel on the Autoplus Dynojet. All this is mated to a 5.1-final ratio DC5 Type-R 6-speed transmission with an Exedy Hyper-Single Clutch. The engine and transmission is lubricated exclusive with Motul 300V, Motul Gear FF and cooled with Motul MoCool in the Dynamics aluminum radiator.

Keeping the car on the ground are race-spec Dynamics coilovers, Skunk2 rear lower control arms, ASR rear subframe, and a Fullrace traction bar. To make suspension tweaking easier, Skunk2 front and rear camber kits were installed for adjusting from race to show set-ups. The car rolls on 16″x7″ Rays Engineering Volk Racing TE-37 with 205/45R16 Yokohama Advan Neova AD-08 tires.

Inside the car are leftovers of the former EG6 restoration which include full JDM sidings and flat folding rear seats, and more functional styling parts, which start off with a pair Bride Stradia carbon-kevlar seats mounted on Bride super-low seat rails; a rare Mugen FG360 steering wheel, Mugen sports pedals, and Mugen aluminum shift knob paired with the K-Tuned billet shifter. Monitoring is done via a standalone Innovate wideband O2 sensor, and Defi Link Black-Face oil temperature, oil pressure, fuel pressure meters.

Vanilla may be the most common ice cream flavor, this Vanilla-colored EG hatchback may look normal to the untrained eye, but is far beyond the common examples you’ll see on the road. This car has the show and packs a lot of go.

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A classic Mini gets a large dose of VTEC Power

The Classic Mini originally came with a 34 bhp, 848 cc engine which was increased to 997, 998, 1071 and 1275 cc that boosted its power output up to 55 bhp in stock form. While it may not sound much as compared to today’s subcompacts that pack in more power, but if you factor in the Mini’s power to weight ratio, this will prove just how nimble it really is. Engine-wise, while those stock performance figures may sound just fine to the purist. But in the tuner world where anything is possible for the sake of increased performance, there’s only one solution to gain maximum performance from the lightweight Mini. This can only be achieved by shoehorning a modern, high revving engine onto the tight confines of the Mini as our featured Mini built by Autoplus and Motor Pro attests to. This build is no walk in the park as it makes use of a specialized subframe conversion kit in order to accommodate a B-Series Honda engine onto its platform that’s also enhanced with goodies such as: race-oriented dual-pot disc brakes, wider wheels, and adjustable suspension. These mods are a must in order to achieve every-day reliability with a strong emphasis in terms of all-around performance.

Once the conversion kit arrived, Autoplus sportzentrium was given the task of putting it together. Aside from the subframe kit, the swap also necessitated a one piece, fiberglass, tilt front end because the hood and the front fenders must be stretched forward four inches to accommodate the Honda engine and radiator. The longer front end is not noticeable until you’re told it’s there, so it doesn’t alter the original looks of the Mini. The exterior is made even more muscular with the wider wheel arches, where Motor Pro autoclinique was tasked to massage the body as they sprayed it with an impeccable dark metallic blue paint finish set against a contrasting white colored roof using DuPont automotive refinishes.

The specialized conversion kit may be responsible for the swap, but it’s what’s nestled in between the subframe that truly makes this hybrid Mini a screamer. A stock B18 Honda already puts out a decent amount of power, but when you employ the services of renowned race engine builder/engineer Francisco “Pacho” Blanco, to blueprint/build the engine. Better make sure that your brakes and suspension are up to the task. The stout Honda bottom end was rebuilt using the stock pistons, crank, and rods together with aftermarket bearings and fasteners. High Performance cylinder head work is one of Mr. Blanco’s specialties, and this one features his Stage 2 porting job that’s accomplished with the aid of Autoplus’ Superflow flowbench that accurately measures the amount of airflow in each chamber. Orchestrating the Type-R valvetrain is a pair of Spoon camshafts with a 2-degree advance on the intake side and a 1-degree advance on the exhaust side to achieve a more favorable powerband according to Mr. Blanco. The rev limit is set at 9800rpm, while the VTEC kicks in at 5200 rpm. Together with the stock ECU, this mill has been dyno tuned by Francisco Blanco to put out 190 wheel horsepower. As is the case with all tuners, we all know that there’s plenty more where that came from. Most especially when your engine builder recently happened to motivate an Evo5 with 813 wheel horsepower and 623 lb-ft of torque that enabled it to post an unbelievable quarter-mile time of 9.6 seconds. Chances are that this Mini will just keep on getting faster and faster as it truly epitomizes the ultimate pocket rocket.

Engine: Honda B18C5 1.8-liter DOHC VTEC Rebuilt and blueprinted by Francisco “Pacho” Blanco, Spoon camshafts, cam gears, valve springs, and retainers, Type-R valves, Autoplus Stage 2 headworks, PAD 65mm throttle body, HKS Super Power Flow Air filter, Autoplus custom stainless steel exhaust system, Spoon 4-1 exhaust header, modified intake manifold, aluminum radiator.
Suspension: Front subframe conversion, Adjustable front suspension, Bilstein dampers, custom rollcage, Superbrake disc brake conversion kit (Dual-pot calipers with 8.4” Rotors), Braided Steel Brake Lines, Wilwood race pedals and Tilton master cylinders.
Interior: Autometer “Classic Style” gauges, 4-point roll cage, Billet aluminum door handles and window risers, Air-con kit, McIntosh MX406 head unit, McIntosh MC420M (4CH) Power Amplifier, Pioneer TS0690R 3-way rear speakers (6x9”), Focal Polyglass front speaker set
Exterior: Fiberglass, one piece, tilt front end kit with Dzus fasteners, Fiberglass wheel arches and front spoiler, Mini Style fog lamps (4pcs), John Cooper emblems and union jack flag decal, Courtesy light, Custom DuPont automotive refinish by Motor Pro autoclinique
Wheels: MWS alloys 13x7”, Yokohama A539 tires 175/50/R13

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The Honda Fit or Jazz as it is locally known, has been enjoying its share of customization, modification or whatever the owners like to call what they do to their cars. But the problem is, they all seem to look alike. And most have left out what it takes to make their cars look clean.

The small car offers an almost limitless possibilities to modify. When the owner found out about the Spoon modified version, he got inspired and wanted one for himself. First off was to throw away the generic Jazz badge and stick on a JDM Fit badge.

Then came the healthy dose of JDM parts mostly from Spoon, starting with a little diet. A carbon fiber hood and rear wing was in order to remove excess weight and give the car an aggressive appeal. The messy looking stock roof antenna was also replaced to a Spoon antenna. A pair of Cusco tow hooks was installed to add some orange JDM flavor to the exterior.

Under the hood, the oil filler cap and radiator caps were replaced with Spoon ones and a pair of reservoir covers were installed to complete the aesthetics. For performance, the Spoon N1 tail silencer was the weapon of choice coupled with the midpipe. Since Spoon didn’t have an open-type air cleaner, an HKS Super Power Flow intake was used.

Realizing that he had to make his car look different from the rest, a set of 16-inch Spoon SW388 wheels were in order to give the car a really agressive stance and a wider track. Also helping with the footwork is a set of Tein Type Street adjustable coilvers. A Spoon strut tower bar was also installed to reduce body roll.

Inside the car, the most noticeable would be the pair of blue Recaro seats from a special edition DC5 Integra Type-R was installed. Additional instrumentation is provided by three DEFI black face units. Safety was still a concern, so the stock SRS equipped unit stays for the meantime.

You might wonder how this car even got here being modified so little. Less is more in many cases, and this is definitely the answer to what made this car get featured here. Flashy paint and an overly done exterior don’t always make your car look good. Most of the time, a subtle treatment is all it takes to make your car all that.

Engine: HKS Super Power Flow Intake Kit, Spoon Type N1 Tail Silencer, Spoon Midpipe, Spoon oil filler and radiator cap
Suspension: Spoon front tower bar, TEIN Type-Street Coilovers
Interior: Recaro special edition blue DC-5 front seats, Spoon Shift Knob, DEFI Black Face Gauges
Exterior: Spoon carbon fiber hood, Spoon carbon fiber wing, Spoon short antenna, Vision APR side mirrors, Cusco tow hooks
Wheels: 16x7 Spoon SW388 wheels, Dunlop LM702 205/45R16 tires

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