This $22,000 Civic Is The Honda Even Muscle Car Fanboys Must Respect

I’ve owned many cars from numerous manufacturers, but I’ve yet to own a Honda. One of these days I’ll have (and love) an S2000, but I’m not terribly interested in high-revving hatchbacks that don’t have as much torque as my impact wrench. No disrespect to the Honda fans - I’m just not that keen on making 200bhp at 20-bazillion RPM.

571 high-revving horsepower on the other hand could be quite fun, in the same way that having Walt Disney World all to yourself for a day could be fun. $22,000 wouldn’t buy you exclusive access to the bathrooms for an hour, never mind the whole park. But that same cash will buy this 2000 Honda Civic, currently selling on eBay from the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, Illinois. The seller says this unassuming Civic makes 571 horsepower, and to his credit, there’s a dyno plot showing just that.

Mind you, that’s 571 horsepower at the wheels. Considering typical drive line power loss of 15 percent, that would mean this 1.6-litre B16 engine is making almost 700bhp. Let me say that one more time: 700 horsepower from 1.6 litres. I guess I can’t be completely sure the engine hasn’t been bored or stroked a bit, but big whoopity do; we’re still talking about something very small making insane power. I don’t care how big your muscle car man card is. This Honda is bad to the bone and if you can’t at least respect the hell out of this build, you aren’t a real petrolhead.

Of course, there’s the question of how long the engine will last with such power. The little mill is boosted to 27 psi and runs on 116 octane to make full power, and the seller says it’s a 10-second car at the drag strip. Since there’s actually a shot of it at a strip with fat slicks up front, I’m inclined to believe him. It’s done 600 miles since the build was finished - no word on how many of those miles came a quarter-mile at a time, but this Civic actually looks quite streetable. And I like that we can see photos listing all the work that’s been done, though I think going with the lifetime warranty on the starter might be a tad optimistic in this instance.

Riceboys of the world, take notice. There are no massive wings, no rows of stickers, no major body kits. I’m not opposed to such modifications within reason, but I really like how clean this Civic looks versus how brutally quick it can move. In a world filled with slow Civics that pretend to be fast, I’d so love to go trolling Main Street in this unassuming car. I can just imagine the pickup truck guys with boosted diesels or Hemi engines trying to pick a fight, never mind the Mustang and Camaro guys with cars that might actually be fast. And that’s a big deal for me to say, because I just recently ditched my Infiniti for yet another Mustang. So yeah, I’m a prime target for the new owner of this sleeper Civic. And you know what? I’m just fine with that.

Yeah, it’s a 16-year-old Honda Civic that’s selling for more than a Corvette of the same age. Some might find that a bit ridiculous for a front-wheel drive compact car, even if it’s quicker than just about everything else on the road. Maybe it’s a bit overpriced, but if it’s truly had all the work done that’s listed, I don’t see anyone building this car for anything less. If you’re looking to build a legitimately fast Honda, this could be your turn-key answer.