“Sleeper” just might be the most overused adjective to describe a car known. Everything is a sleeper nowadays. That 1993 Ford F-150? It’s a sleeper because it came with the 351 instead of the 302. That 1978 Chrysler Cordoba? It’s a sleeper…for what reason, exactly, nobody is sure of. And I’ve seen the term used on K-cars, Ford Escorts, Saturns, minivans that don’t deserve it, and so on and so forth. The word has been cheapened, it’s meaning diluted. A sleeper was something you never saw coming until it was too late. A basic Camaro is still a Camaro…it’s no sleeper. But a first-generation Honda Insight, the one that looks like a suppository with headlights? That wasn’t a sleeper, that was the automotive equivalent of Ambien. Sure, it got great mileage and was one of the first “hybrids” to hit the market with any success, but gut the hybrid powertrain out of it, plant a ton of turbocharged Honda K20A2 guts inside instead, and use the car’s aerodynamic tricks to work in favor of speed instead of fuel economy and you’ve got something worth noting, even if the sound of a Honda mill makes you want to carve out your ears with a melon baller.
When parked next to a Lamborghini Huracan or a Chevrolet Corvette Zo6, the Insight looks well out of place, door crease, dents and all. The action this little silver pill of a car is capable of speaks on it’s own, it doesn’t need my help. It’s not a complete washout, but the Insight puts on a very respectable show.
What kind of track lets these guys out without a helmet?
no rollbar, no helmet, cracked windshield, passenger, 130s?–really–this seems safe
Sometimes I regret selling my K20a Honda Insight but I spent too many hours and dollars chasing down the previous builder’s shortcuts. By the time it was sorted out the thrill had faded away, and all I had left was an insanely fast and dangerous car with the driven wheels on the wrong end.
Live and learn!
http://davesanborn.blogspot.com/2017/05/my-insane-honda-insight-k20-swap-is-for.html
What a fine idea – now I want to see a Nissan Note with a 350Z motor in its as this thing is built at Sunderland which to a true Geordie is enemy territory!