I was talking to Ron and Brandon of Mackin Industries on a deserted pier in Long Beach, when cover photographer Wes called me over to where he was setting up to shoot Signal Auto's turbocharged '98 Civic hatch. "We can't do this shot," he said and pointed to the lens. I looked through it and saw that the chameleon paint job--the same one that just moments earlier radiated a glorious spectrum of yellow, orange, and green--from this (and apparently only this) angle had mutated into an ugly shade of brown.
The next few seconds (minutes?) consisted of me looking at Wes and him back at me, like those animatronic elves you find outside Bloomingdales during Christmas. You see, I had spent the previous month planning the perfect cover shot, which wound up being this exact angle and location. All of which, I was relaying to Ron mere moments previous to discovering that the car was, in fact, from this perfect angle, the color of poo. I don't know what Ron was doing, but I could visualize the cartoon thought bubble forming above his head when Wes said, "I think I have an idea."
His idea was to shoot the interior and engine first and worry about the cover shot (i.e. the most important shot) later. Clearly, that was the easiest way out. It allowed me to explain to Ron that we were just waiting for sunset, which was a much more attractive option than explaining to him how I had to ixnay a shot that was one month in the planning because I overlooked the possibility that the color of the car would morph into that of a UPS uniform. Of course, that would've been the spineless thing to do. Only a cowardly magazine editor with an acute desire to avoid any and all confrontations would wilt in the face of such humiliation and push the problem onto the back burner.
"So, Ron, we're going to wait for the sun to set for sweet light. In the mean time, Wes can shoot the interior and the engine."
From its facility in Osaka, Japan, Signal Auto does pretty much everything short of market its own brand of Pocky. The company tunes street and race cars, manufactures its own body kits, and paints and sells used Skylines. It also retails products from Rays Engineering and Tanabe, which explains its connection with Mackin Industries', Rays', and Tanabe's U.S. distributor. Last year, Mackin shipped Signal's chop top Drag Civic to these shores for SEMA and this year's race season. That car was a full-bore stock-chassis drag car and, at press time, was the quickest Japanese-built drag Civic Stateside (10.07 at 143).
At first blush, this one appears to be different, but it is cut from the same mold and startlingly close to the drag car. Park it next to the chop top Civic, and you'll find few differences. Of course, there's the roof line, but the only other major discrepancy between the two is weight. The Chop Top has been fully gutted and equipped with light-weight door panels; this one has a full interior and sound system. That alone can account for the 2-second difference in quarter-mile times because (and shame on me for not telling you sooner) this car has turned a best of 12.2 on 16-inch Nitto Drag Radials.
The B16A block has been bored and stroked to 1.8L and cooked up solely with Signal ingredients. These include (9.0:1 compression) forged pistons, piston rings, crankshaft, titanium valves, titanium valve springs, and titanium retainers. Signal also bolted on its own turbo intake manifold, throttle body, and cam gears. The turbocharger and the wastegate are from Sard. And the rest of the turbo goodies come from Trust (blow-off valve, intercooler, pipes, and Profec B boost controller). The only change in the fuel system is the addition of a Bosch fuel pump. Believe it or not, everything else is OE. On nitrous (from Nitrous Express), the car makes a delicious 370 ps at 8,200 rpm.
Power like that isn't only visible, but audible, and with the Civic its eager tones are illuminating. Once it clears its dual exhaust throat with that recognizable Honda cough, its engine idles and rises through the revs with sophistication--all right, a slightly raw sort of sophistication. It is the sound of a refined motor, one that's been tuned by knowing hands, one that really befits its magical appearance.
The suspension bears the same noble branding that we've come to expect in everything from Japan. Adjustable Tanabe Sustec Pro coilovers not only make switching from suit-and-tie commuter to suit-and-helmet racer a matter of routine instead of mayhem, they also highlight the car's Jeckyl and Hyde existence.
But in Japan, this is primarily a city car with city needs. What better instruments to tame metropolitan turns and traffic than a Kaaz limited slip differential and Tanabe front and rear sway bars. Volk Racing Daytona Speeds and Nitto 450s top off the list of traction and handling add-ons, and the result is, well, agile, nimble, accurate, lissome, and lively.
Everything about this car reveals its dual purpose. Look inside. A Kenwood stereo shares cabin space with Bride bucket seats, Sard gauges (for boost, EGT, fuel pressure), and an Auto Meter tachometer. No, you won't find a mosaic of carbon fiber and carbon kevlar or white gauge faces. What you will find is an aluminum console frame and a rollcage, which does make getting in and out of the cabin a bit of an athletic event, but it is a requirement on the track--a reminder that this car turns 12s.
As you can see, Wes solved the color situation. Yes, the car is fast. And yes, it is nimble. But the exterior is where the car hangs its hat. Observing the reactions of all who come across it makes that obvious. Adding a sportier edge to the factory body lines is Signal's signature Kosquito aero kit (also available for the Skyline) which, most noticeably, takes away the stock Honda grille and replaces it with a cutaway below, one that reveals the Trust intercooler. The custom cutaway fiberglass hood isn't visible until you're really on top of the car, and, from there, you can see how the sculpted lines accent those on the body kit below it. Nothing has been left out. Even the mirrors are custom. But that's not what everyone is looking at. What catches everyone's eye isn't the intercooler, nor the dual exhausts, nor the body kit. Believe me, they only see the color.
Ah, the color. In the U.S., we have seen similar shades in Adam Saruwatari's, RX-7 among other cars. On these shores, it is called chameleon for its ability to alter with the angle of perception. The paint on the Civic is Signal Auto's own blend, called Mazora. From one angle, the entire car looks brown. But from all others, it's heaven.
At $20,000 in build-up costs and a total estimated value of $40,000, this is not your average garage Civic build-up. For that amount of money, you could pick up a Supra or a R32 Skyline from Motorex. For $5,000 more, you could buy a BMW M3. But none of the above could offer you 12 seconds on radials. Nor could it offer you that sound. That beautiful sound that is part turbocharged Civic and part tuning at its highest level. It is the sound of technology. And that is priceless.