Before cars were fit with more computers than Microsoft, before emissions control made power and cleanliness go hand in hand, dinosaurs ruled the earth. The names of these beasts included monikers such as Hemi, Charger, Nova, and Mach 1. Without the engine advancements and technology now used in modern vehicles, these hot rods sported the same technology that drives the cutting edge NASCAR racing series. To this day, that engine technology is still known in simpler terms as "monstrous engine size." The very first Chevrolet small block V-8 weighed in at 4.3L and ballooned into a 6.6L unit in the '70s that pushed out a now-paltry 240hp.
Compare these efficiency numbers to the output of any modern high revving, high output Honda engine, and you'll be sacrificing virgins for the sake of proper engineering. Known for pushing the envelope of engines that produce more than 100hp/liter, Honda has created some of the lightest, most efficient naturally aspirated motors ever to spin a wheel in anger. Aside from a few scant V-6 offerings found in the Acura lineup, Honda has generally sunk their efforts into creating small displacement power plants, such as the ubiquitous B16. But what if you could find a motor that combines a larger engine size with modern Honda-developed engine technology?
For the rest of the story, along with more images, pick up the March 2006 issue of Import Tuner. On newsstands now!