Browsing: The Cars

Single Cam Slammer | Insane Speed’s 717HP D16Z6 Powered Civic

Insane Speed builds insane cars. It has produced numerous high-powered vehicles from 1,000+ horsepower EVOs and Supras to twin-turbocharged Lamborghinis. Building insane horsepower is the company mantra, and the challenge of doing so just to prove that it’s possible motivates shop owner Todd Allen. This “can-do” attitude prompted Allen to go to the trouble of building a high-horsepower single cam D16. It makes less than normal financial sense to the typical enthusiast but was just the sort of challenge that Allen thrives on. He acquired this Civic Coupe EX as partial payment from a customer who didn’t need it anymore.…

Raceway Runner | R34 GT-R Built to Take on Fuji Speedway

Too many enthusiasts choose to spend money and throw parts at their car until something good comes out of it, without doing their research and without a goal in mind. The ones who do it right, however, know where they want the car to end up and can therefore map out the plan to get there. Yoshihiro Kikkawa and the highly-acclaimed shop Advance laid out the objectives for Kikkawa’s BNR34 Nissan GT-R early on, aiming to race the clock at Fuji Speedway. With this end goal in mind, the team analyzed the R34’s strengths and weaknesses, and set out to…

Cusco Rally STI | Cusco’s Stock STI Transformed to a Rally Race Winner

You’d be hard pressed to find any motorsport that pushes its drivers and cars harder than rally. Drivers, co-drivers (navigators) and their cars must drive for hours on end over the course of a weekend, navigating their way through off-road beaten trails, thick gravel paths, and stretches of tarmac. The mix of road surfaces, jumps, and unpredictable obstacles makes rally the ultimate proving ground for a driver’s skill and a car’s strength. In the interest of proving the performance and reliability of its parts, paired with a love for rally racing, Cusco assembled a 2014 VAB Subaru WRX STI to…

Capabilities Enhanced | FEED’s Ever-Evolving 631HP RX-7

Good looks, turbocharged power, low weight, excellent handling, and a distinct sound, Mazda’s FD RX-7 of the 1990s had it all. The car’s unique power plant and timeless looks turned it into an iconic representation of the rise of import performance, making it a highly sought after platform among all of the automotive community. Fujita Yoshiharu and his Fujita Engineering FEED Racing Program team have long appreciated the importance and performance potential of the FD platform, so they decided to search for an example to call their own. This build would turn into the team’s testing platform for new engineering…

Mixed and Matched | 1000+HP Nissan Stagea

Few car design concepts divide an audience more than the wagon. Some see wagons as nothing more than family cars and grocery getters, while others consider them a uniquely sporty aesthetic. More recently, wagons and hatchbacks have evolved into a somewhat popular design for a niche audience, but there are still plenty who refuse to call anything with added cargo volume a performance car. Either way, the sight of an R34 front end on a station wagon at the drag strip is enough for anyone to have to double-take. Text by Cameron Parsons // Photos by Rob Shaw Little more…

Show and Go | Signal Auto Evo X

Inspired by high horsepower rally machines of the 1980s and early 1990s, the battle between the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Subaru WRX STI carried on for over a full decade. Both platforms kicked off in the early 1990s, sporting turbocharged four-cylinder engines sending nearly 300 horsepower through an AWD drivetrain. When one model raised the performance bar, the other would bite back with another round of updates. The battle raged on through the cars’ introductions to the United States until 2015, when Mitsubishi was forced to pull the plug on the EVO brand. Although the EVO name came to its…

First Drive: 2017 Honda Civic Type R

After waiting over 16 years, there is finally a generation of Honda Civic that may become more popular to performance enthusiasts than the 4th, 5th and 6th generation Civics that led the import performance movement in the States. For the first time ever, this 10th generation of Civic will feature not only the Si variant, but also a Type R edition available in the US. While the Civic Type R (CTR) has existed since 1997 in other parts of the world, the only Type R to hit our shores in the past was the DC2 Integra Type R (ITR). This…

Engineering the 2ZZ-GE For Boosted Performance

Bigger, better, stronger, faster. It’s a simple mantra spoken by many performance enthusiasts. When it comes to increasing an engine’s performance, making it bigger (increasing displacement), better (more efficient), stronger (capable of sustaining higher power output) and faster (capable of higher peak RPMs) is a solid plan to follow. While there are a number of aftermarket companies that offer the stroker kits and valvetrain upgrades to build a “B.B.S.F.” engine, there are times when one may want or have to engineer solutions from scratch. Custom crankshafts, custom pistons and custom rods are sometimes the only path for a specific goal.…

600 WHP RIDOX Aero JZA80 Supra

Although we as enthusiasts appreciate and enjoy the power capabilities of the acclaimed 2JZ-GTE platform, we also can’t deny that high horsepower JZA80 Supras are a dime a dozen. Pristine builds don’t seem to turn heads anymore unless the car cranks out more than 1,200whp. Even then, few make the effort to turn that power into anything but a quarter-mile burnout. Ken Miyazaki of Japan took a different approach with his 1998 Toyota Supra Turbo. Instead of aspiring to the many dyno queens in existence, he outfitted his JZA80 to turn fast laps on a road course. Text by Cameron…

572 HP EVO 6.5 | Tommi Makinen Edition

There are few examples of the States getting a better version of a vehicle platform than the rest of the world. However, the first-generation (1G) and second-generation (2G) DSMs are an exception to the rule. While only FWD versions were available in Japan, AWD versions were available in the States. A cooperative effort between Chrysler and Mitsubishi produced the Eagle Talon TSi AWD, the Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX and Plymouth Laser RS Turbo AWDs. These legendary DSMs would not only introduce the States to the capabilities of turbocharged four-cylinders, but also to the extreme merits and challenges of an all-wheel-drive configuration.…

First Drive: 2017 Honda Civic Si

At the start of the new millennium, many performance enthusiasts went through a hard breakup with Honda. After years vested to one brand, the relationship between enthusiast and Honda went stale shortly after 2000. Honda simply stopped building Civics for enthusiasts. Within the DSPORT staff, we witnessed firsthand the parting of longtime Honda lovers and their make of choice. Most staffers replaced their Honda Civics and Acura Integras with EVOs, STis, and even European models such as the GTI. With the exception of the S2000 roadster, there has not been significant reason to get back together with Honda for those…

Taniguchi’s 700 HP 2JZ Swapped GT86

If you haven’t heard of HKS, Daigo Saito and Nobuteru “NOB” Taniguchi, then you must be very new to the import performance scene. HKS has been Japan’s premiere full-line performance parts manufacturer since the 1970s. Today, HKS has reestablished a US presence and we expect big things in the coming years. Daigo Saito is the D1GP and Formula D championship driver that we followed in our DSPORT Full Lock video series the season that he took the championship. He’s well known for his aggressive driving style and big-power drift machines. He is also the proprietor of Fat Five Racing, a…

Big Boost Supra Making Over 1,500 WHP

Producing big horsepower at higher elevations may seem like magic, but it’s actually a matter of making best use of the amount of oxygen that is available. Since the oxygen density is reduced at elevation, improvements and adjustments must be made in order for significant horsepower to be produced reliably. To many people living at higher elevations, producing high-horsepower builds can be both a challenge and an adventure. Text and Photos by Richard Fong Happenstance Fan When Jeremy Hepburn started car shopping, he wasn’t totally sure what he wanted. Just out of high school, he was drawn to the NSX,…

RS-R’s Turbocharged VQ Swapped Nissan S15

When drifting began, the pioneers of the sport favored several real wheels drive platforms for power, weight distribution and handling traits. Nissan’s Silvia platform proved itself on the touge of Japan as well as in drifting competitions around the world. With the turbocharged SR20DET engine capable of producing over 400 horsepower with bolt-on parts and tuning, the affordable S-chassis made its way to the top of various podiums through the mid 2000’s. But in the USA, the Formula Drift Pro Championship started to get the attention of domestic manufacturers, and soon Dodge Vipers, Ford Mustangs and Chevy Camaros joined the…

Wide and Justified 335 WHP Toyota MR2

Behind the wide fenders and glossy paint is more than your average show car. Andrew Dryden of Orange County, California, has inadvertently constructed a powerful and eye-catching 1993 Toyota MR2 Turbo and this project is proof that dreams do come true. You see, Andrew is only 19 years old, juggling school and work. However, his passion for road racing and Toyotas drove him to build an MR2 that could crush the competition not only on the racetrack but in the aesthetics department as well. Andrew is well aware of the quality products available for imports in the states and wasted…

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