OK, so it goes. Better still, the Neon doesn't advertise. Len (who is in his mid-30s) has wisely avoided the typical graphic nightmare and gone with basic black, big rims for the street, with silver and black accents inside to go for a sedate, adult feel. Not even a wing on the back. Sort of an ADM (American Domestic Market) approach, if you will. If you can't bring yourself to think of it as attractive, we can at least agree that the treatment it's been dealt has minimized the damage.
One of Len's more perverse delights in telling the story of his Neon is the pricing: after all the tweaking has been done, this car can be replicated for about the cost of a new Integra Type R, go faster, and have cheaper insurance to boot.
Len claims that he's at the car's streetability limit now; there's more in it, but he'll have to turn his Neon into a full-on gutted race car. That bums us out a little, that such a fine example of a 10-second street car will be forced to give up its streetability, but we're encouraged that research and experimentation will continue. Len claims he wants to pilot the first 200 mph FWD quarter-mile run. Sound impossible? He's come this far. Will anyone bet against him? We sure won't.
Fast Facts
Owner: Len Ayala
Hometown: Buffalo Grove, IL
Ride: '96 Dodge Neon ACR
Under The Hood: '96 Chrysler 2.0L DOHC inline-four, custom sheetmetal intake, K&N air cleaner, Holley 75mm throttle body, Hahn Stage 5 turbo system including Mitsubishi/Hahn Super 20G turbo (max boost 30 lbs), Hahn front-mounted intercooler, and GReddy blow-off valve, GReddy electronic boost controller, ACCEL/DFI with 800cc, adjustable cam gears, forged J&E pistons, 9:1 compression, Crower billet rods, MSD DIS-2, twin ACCEL coil packs, ACCEL wires, Hahn turbo exhaust manifold, Apex three-inch stainless with N1 muffler, NOS 100hp fogger, AFX motor mount, underdrive pulleys and PCM reprogramming, Clutch Masters Stage 4 clutch, Quaife limited-slip differential; rower rating: 470 hp@6,500 rpm (without nitrous), best time: 10.55/139.50 mph
Stiff Stuff: Height-adjustable Eibach coilovers (400-pound springs in front, 600 pounds in back) with billet aluminum strut tower strut perches and spherical bushings, six-point chromoly by Alston Group (Antioch, IL)
Rollers: 17x7 Katana (street); 13x8 Kaiser (front race), 205/40ZR17 Falken Z1EX (street); 25x9x13 M&H slicks (front race)
Outside: Stock with graphics by Dan Brouch/Brouch Designs
Inside: Momo Competition wheel and carbon/Kevlar seats, custom two-tone dyed vinyl, carpets dyed black-the rest is paint
Props: Gary Howell/Howell Automotive, Bill Hahn Jr./Hahn Racecraft, AFX Manufacturing, Driver's Image, my friend Curt Christiensen, and my wife Laura.