Steve Soto's Honda Civic Hatch

You have two choices when your 600-plus-hp hatchback gets totaled T-bone style just minutes after a couple of 25psi maiden dyno pulls. One involves running home like a baby, scraping ideas of any and all future projects out of pure frustration. The other requires a bit of determination...Some might even say heart. To say Steve Soto manned up after totaling his first magazine-bound, mega-powered EG would be, well, an understatement.

Steve's hatchback addiction is no secret, which is partly responsible for him owning a number of what he endearingly refers to as Honda's "bubble." Fair enough. Few cars are easier to pick, prod at and tune than the '92-'95 Civics. Now would be a good time to mention Steve's past bubble-fied obsessions, his exploits if you will, but frankly, we just haven't the room. What we can tell you is that the list reads a little something like this: '93 turbo B20 VTEC Civic, road race-built CRX, righthand drive '94 turbo K-series Civic and a '93 turbo GS-R, just to name a few. No, by Steve's admission they aren't all bubbles, but neither is the guy's F350 turbo diesel pickup. Anyone else noticing a trend here?

Turbochargers and Hondas are the makings of long lasting relationships. Few engines destined for lives of natural aspiration respond as well as Hondas do when it comes to positive pressure. The K-series is no different and Steve knows that, which is why he's built two similar setups over the span of just a couple of years. Both K-powered, both turbocharged. The RHD arrived first but its life was short lived. The late model 'Vette that sideswiped it made sure of that. But we're not here to talk about Steve's old hatch; it's his latest big-powered EG effort that we care about.

Despite the accident, the K made it out alive. Another EG collecting dust on the side of Steve's house made the decision to take on another project all the easier. The build moved forward with textbook precision. The chassis was stripped to the bone and a 10-point rollcage was fabbed into place. Steve next sent the car off to paint; '06 STi bronze was the color of choice, which made for one of the easiest decisions, he tells us. Of course the engine bay was stripped and wires were tucked, inside and out, prior to paint.

With the hatch at the body shop, the boys at Velocity Trends, Steve's shop, went to town on the K20A2. No, it wasn't damaged from the accident but, with the car away and the engine on the ground, the decision to beef it up further just made sense. Skunk2 valvetrain components were added to the ported head and IPS camshaft combo and the T3 exhaust manifold was upgraded to one with a T4 footprint. Why? Because the GT35R would soon be ditched for a bigger and better GT4294R. Only time will tell what the new setup will yield power-wise but, rest assured, it'll likely make the engine's previous 603hp pull look more like child's play than anything else. Other preparations for new and improved power figures were made, like swapping the 1,000cc injectors for 1,600cc ones from Precision and fitting the EG with a dual-Walbro pump setup. A five-speed transmission yanked from an EP chassis Civic Si was selected for gear bangin' duties and is paired with a Competition twin-disc clutch and flywheel. Such a setup is likely to snap axles like toothpicks, which is precisely why Steve incorporated a set of Driveshaft Shop axles into the build.

Steve is a drag racer. But since this hatchback is known to roam about Jacksonville, Fla., roads more often then you'd think, it's also got to do important things like turn, stop and not bottom out. TEIN flex dampers and springs accompanied with a Skunk2 alignment kit take care of part of this along with the help of Power Slot front and rear discs and Hawk pads. The Full Race traction bars and ARP extended wheel studs serve little purpose on the road but are all but mandatory when slicked down at the strip. Besides, they look cool too.