Writing about a race car is not easy. All the adjectives usually set aside to describe a "normal" feature car go wasted on a beast such as this. There is no full custom leather interior to fawn over; no ear-bending stereo or chrome wheels tucked under the fender wells nothing that a non-motor head would think twice about. So, why is it that the biggest crowds are always hovering around the AEM Racing booth? Could it be because of this unassuming little yellow car? Damn straight!
Some time ago, we found out that there was a new top secret project in the works at the AEM Frankenstein lab. Their goal: replace the very popular Steph Papadakis-driven '99 Civic Hatch that AEM had been campaigning around the drag circuit. Twelve months and more than $100,000 later, Super Street is proud to announce the birth of AEM's new 2001 Civic drag coupe a collaboration among AEM, Honda Optional Equipment, and Papadakis.
The car seems innocent enough with its bright ice-yellow pearl paint and its front end looking like a smiling escapee from Jim Henson's Creature Factory.
However, underneath that grinning facade is a 650hp-plus fire-breathing dragon disguised as a 2.2L Honda Prelude VTEC. Turbocharged, balanced, and blueprinted, this monster strains to be released from its cage. Once the hood is off, you almost want to think twice about getting near it for fear it will take your leg off. Once you get past the initial shock and say, "it's just an engine," take a closer look and you'll realize that there is something strange going on. It's mounted sideways. Well, that would be considered the "right" way for all you rear-wheel-drive V-8 muscle car guys out there. But definitely different for us front-wheel-drive import-lovin' fiends. This was done in order to allow for the wider tires to fit in the wheel wells without pushing the engine too far out over the front end and upsetting the already delicate 70-30 front-to-rear weight balance of this 1,600-pound car.
The power this motor puts out comes on hard and strong, thanks to a huge GReddy T88 turbo (Jonny doesn't even own a hairdryer this big) fed like a hungry raptor by the custom-fabricated long-length Hy-Tech headers. The turbo then stuffs cool air into the engine through a custom-bent AEM air intake, attached to an Eshleman's Carbon Works carbon-fiber intake manifold. AEM and JE have supplied all the internal bits and pieces that take over from here in a cacophony of raw explosive energy rivaling the launch of Apollo 13. Mating this animal to the custom five-speed tranny proved to be one of the more difficult prospects during the car's conception. But obviously, the difficulties behind getting the power from the engine to the custom-fabricated axles, then to the huge M&H slicks have all been worked out to near perfection. On its first outing, the car made an 8.82-second run in front of thousands of screaming fans (see the race coverage in this issue) and since then the numbers have been consistently dropping.
Harnessing all that power in a car that light becomes an engineering marvel unto itself. This monster of an engine is kept in a full front-to-rear chrome-moly cage built by Roger Miller. The entire car itself is a tube-framed work of art; designed not only to protect the driver, but also to provide the framework for the carbon-fiber body panels which look as though yellow icing was poured over a steel-framed cake. The body, doors, and hood of the car are a masterwork in carbon-fiber wizardry, keeping the general appearance of a street-massaged stock Civic coupe, Honda Optional Equipment ground effects and all. But it's all a mere candy shell designed from the ground up and smoothed out in a wind tunnel with speed and downforce as the main goal.
The interior is Spartan yet purposeful, containing only the bare necessities to keep things functional and light. No custom upholstery and head bangin' stereo here. The only dancing lights and video screens you'll see will be from the Auto Meter tach and the laptop used to program the engine computer. The floor of the car is bare carbon fiber and an undercarriage as flat as Elle McPherson's stomach was created (and it's probably almost as nice to the touch). The carbon-fiber Sparco seat holds Stephan snugly during the neck snapping acceleration runs. Most people are trying to do 0-60 in the time it takes Papadakis to go to 170. Zero to 60 happens for Steph in a mere 2.5 seconds. That's how long it takes you to realize that the car isn't smiling because it likes you, it's smiling because...well, you'd be smiling, too.