Alex Soto could be called an up-and-comer in the Honda community, but he's by no means a newbie. You may remember his Civic hatch that earned multiple magazine and online features and we were sure it was only a matter of time before he'd be back with something brand new for that ass. On behalf of Super Street, I am proud to give you the first look at his latest project as well as an exclusive interview with the young man behind the most unassuming build in this country that costs more than an arm and a leg to put together.
Super Street: First and foremost, where are you from and how old are you?Alex Soto: Man, I was actually born in L.A. I lived in Fontana, California `til I was 13 and moved to Lafayette, Colorado which is what I consider my home. And I'm 23 now.
SS: Ahh that's cool, so when did you move back to SoCal?AS: I moved out here when I just turned 18. I needed to get involved in something, at the time I didn't know what. My dad has been living out here so I just moved in with him.
SS: How did you get started with Hondas?AS: Well it all goes back to when I lived in Fontana. My best friend Joseph was just getting into them and one night he took me to the Ontario street races, I was 12! And did I find a love for speed! Then a couple of weeks later I moved to Colorado. I kept in touch with him and every summer I would come to SoCal and he would take me to the street races in his `99 Civic EX hahaha, good times I tell ya.
SS: What was your very first build?AS: My Civic actually, I drove it down with me from Colorado and has been through hell with me - that's the reason why I will never sell it.
SS: That's cool. So for those of our reader's not familiar with it, give us a little background on the EG. Why did you choose that platform initially?AS: Well it's a `94 Civic CX. When I moved out here I beat on it bad, I swapped it with a GS-R [motor] and would squeeze the hell out of it! Then that thing blew. I was sick of droppin' mad money into it so I did a full build from the ground up and was then later featured on the cover of the Oct. '07 issue of Honda Tuning.
SS: What turned you on to the show-and-go theme you've done with both your Civic and this Integra?AS: Jason Whitfield. He is the guy I went to when I first came out here and then I just wanted the best of all worlds, like his cars.
SS: Well he builds some amazing stuff. In this day and age where everyone is so quick to swap a K Series into any Honda chassis, what made you decide to go B series with both your Civic and Integra?AS: Man, well, the Civic was already a hard-core NA build before I color changed it. But on the Iteg?! Honestly K is the "new" thing and I really try to stay away from what everyone does, but it gets harder and harder every year. And the other reason is I've never done a turbo B series -- so I could take two steps forward without the others, not my style. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I can make stupid power out of a K series, NA or boost, but I gotta max out the B before I go K.
SS: That brings me to my next question, what made you decide to boost this car?AS: My buddy Hieu from Texas! I was originally gonna slap on a Drag turbo kit or something (to keep the a/c), but every day I would talk to him and he would tell me about this crazy turbo setup he was doing. And well as we all know, you hang around something long enough and it won't be long before you take the step!
SS: Definitely. So before I forget, let's talk about the color. It's amazing! Where did you first see the color?AS: Oh man! That's the most asked question! So in the fall of `07 I was driving with my uncle Raul to San Fran. It was about sunset and this Chevy HHR pulls up next to us and I was driving. Well it looked pastel blue and I was like "cool" then it pulled up in front of me and turned gold! I was on it! So when I got back home I made my move.