Let’s take a moment to appreciate just how outrageous this Honda Civic is. The front wing is twice the width of the original car. And the one in the rear is not too far behind.
1993 Custom Honda Civic – Beastie Hatch – Souce: Cody Loveland RacingIt’s also street legal. Yeah, you’ll see it driving around in Buckley, Michigan. Don’t worry, you can’t miss it – you’ll hear it coming from a mile away.
Dubbed the Beastie Hatch, this Civic is the creation of Cody Loveland. He’s a talented car builder and driver who’s known for racing in Pikes Peak and other hill climb competitions.
He built the Enviate Hypercar. That car came 2nd in Unlimited Class in the 2017 Pikes Peak hill climb competition and recorded the 2nd fastest speed through the picnic grounds – 147mph.
Cody purchased the 1993 Civic some years ago as a daily driver. We don’t know exactly how it happened, but at some point, he decided to build the most absurd aero package we’ve ever seen on a Honda Civic.
Aerodynamics and bodywork
The front and rear wings are carbon fiber and come straight from the Enviate Hypercar. It took Cody years to learn how to work with carbon fiber, but the end result is great.
The wings are mounted directly to the chassis. The front one looks fragile, but you can step on the outer most edge and will not break it. It produces 500 lbs of downforce at 90 mph. Some of the flaps are adjustable and removable, so the aerodynamics can be optimized for the specific application. The one in the rear can produce up to 1,000 lbs at top speed.
At the back, you’ll see a gigantic diffuser. It measures 96 inches and extends ¾ of the length of the Civic. Underneath the car, there is a large subfloor sitting about 4 inches under the original one. The two are joined by a curved sidewall that joins into a V-shape where the firewall is. It splits the air coming from the front wing and directs it to the side and out.
Cody cut out the original fenders, extended them outwards and connected them with sheet metal to the original body. The build quality is not amazing. As Cody mentions in the video, the car looks great from 10 feet away. You can see some duct tape and wonky curvature, but the car is very much a proof of concept at this stage.
Engine and powertrain
Before he bought the Civic, the engine was already swapped for a J32A3 unit. It’s a 3.2-liter V6 engine, coming from an Acura TL Type-S and producing up to 270 hp and 238 lb/ft of torque.
The engine is stock. However, Cody spent his 30th birthday turbocharging it with a Garret GTX3576 unit leftover from the Enviate project. He manufactured the headers himself. The whole plumbing is assembled from Vibrant Performance components.
The official power, as listed on his website, is 375 hp and 325 lbs/ft. However, when he introduced the car in December 2018, he showed us a dyno chart going up to 500 hp at 14 PSI of boost. His plans are to take the power up to 530 hp while keeping the engine mostly unmodified.
The car rolls on a set of 18×13-inch HRE wheels and Toyo Proxes tires, measuring 335mm in width. A set of RPS carbon-carbon brakes with 380mm rotors and StopTech calibers provide the stopping power.
Honda Civic is originally a front-wheel-drive car. However, during testing, Cody discovered the rear wheels are not getting hot enough to maintain the grip he needs. Not being one to downsize, he decided to convert the car into all-wheel-drive, with a DIY kit by S1Built.
There’s no point talking about the exterior because it doesn’t exist. It looks like a proper race car inside. There is just the seat, steering wheel and instrument cluster (held with zip ties).
The Civic is very much a work in progress. Cody’s aim for the car is to compete in hill climbing and time attack. However, there is plenty of work to do before he can take it to Pikes Peak.
