Zipping down an unrestricted section of German autobahn in a speedy BMW is all well and good. Exercising an Audi wagon or anything from Porsche is certainly fun. And for owners of supercars, having a chance to wind out a V12 in a legal setting is fantastic. This time around, however, we have something a bit less glamorous. And you know what? That’s just fine.
This is a 1993 Honda Civic – an EG hatchback to those familiar with the Hondaverse. For the rest, it’s a fifth-generation Civic and over the years it’s become a staple for tuners and wrenchers to modify. Case in point, if you bought this car new in 1993 it would have a 1.6-liter engine in its highest performance spec. According to the video title, this one packs a K20 – Honda’s popular 2.0-liter four-cylinder widely used through the 2000s. We don’t know exactly what spec this particular engine is, but we do know none of them went to 9,000 rpm. So yeah, whatever is happening under the hood, it’s definitely not stock.
That’s made plainly clear in the very first pull down the unrestricted stretch of highway. With the skinny pedal planted, the sleeper hot-hatch goes from approximately 40 mph to 130 mph in 18 seconds. Yes, there are many cars quicker, but there’s no denying this little Honda is downright heroic in its pursuit of speed. And the K20 doesn’t sound bad at 9,000 revs, either.
With a largely empty highway, the driver of this Honda enjoys several acceleration runs, easily taking the speedometer to its 220-kph limit. That’s around 137 mph, considerably faster than even the fastest stock Civic could reach in 1993. But the end of the speedometer doesn’t mean the Honda stops accelerating. The needle continues past 220 on multiple occasions, with the fastest coming at the end of the video. The phone next to the wheel shows a digital speed readout, presumably based on GPS data. The number peaks at 233 kph, which equals no less than 145 mph. In a 1993 Honda Civic.
That appears to be it though, as the needle barely moves at that speed. Still, we’re talking about speeds well into triple digits, and not far off from the common 155-mph computer limit used on many vehicles. That’s not bad at all for a plucky Honda with a screaming engine.
