There are times when one uses one’s imagination and ends up germinating in one’s head ideas as crazy as building, a Honda Civic CRX Rally Concept, equipped with four Honda VF1100 engines and intended to compete in the famous FIA Group B. At first glance it may seem like the script for a Hollywood movie, but the reality is that this idea is the result of the passion for the world of motorsport by French-Canadian rally driver Paul Bourgeoys and car designer Nelson Henley.
Over several years a legend has developed about the veracity of the project, but today we can attest that it was on the table for a while. Specifically at the end of 1985, at which time the sketches of the car had already been given shape, as well as those key technical aspects with which to turn it into a reality.
Bourgeoys himself made a publication on his social networks in January of this same year, where he tells us what his intentions were along with those of Henley four decades ago. In fact, until that moment a Honda Civic CRX had never before been homologated to run any Group B test.
Curiously, just one year later, a copy of the model, commanded by Ray Hocker and Bill Moore, would compete in the last test of the year, held in Olympus, Washington, within the B11 category, where they would manage to win, finishing in the position number twenty-one overall.
Honda Civic CRX Rally Concept: 484 HP at 9,500 rpm for 1,100 kilos of weight
Imagine a thing with almost 500 HP of power for just a ton of weight. That was the idea that Bourgeoys had in mind when he devised a way to integrate four Honda VF1100 engines into the Civic CRX Rally Concept. To do this, two propellers would be installed on each axle, making them operate independently to guarantee the reliability of the project. The approach was that, if one of the engines failed, they could continue to have the rest available. To do this, they had to have their own electronic management and transmission.
In short, we are talking about a device with more than 120 HP in each wheel. Let us remember that the engine fitted to the VF1100 at that time had a 16-valve cylinder head, liquid cooling and was fed by four 36 mm Keihin carburetors. The brand declared 121 HP at 9,500 rpm and 101.7 Nm at 7,500 revolutions. If we multiply these figures by four, we can get a slight idea of what this Civic CRX Rally Concept would be capable of.
Other interesting figures that accompanied the project were, for example, a wheelbase of 2,438 mm or a maximum curb weight of 1,100 kg, including up to 175 liters of fuel that the tank could hold. The Civic CRX Rally Concept would be supported by a set of 15” alloy wheels made of magnesium and shod with Michelin TRX tires. Likewise, the chassis part would use McPherson type suspensions and would mount disc brakes on all four wheels.
That dream that Paul Bourgeoys conceived in his mind, one Christmas in 1985, returns to ours almost four decades later. And today, more than ever, we know that it could be totally viable, as we have already been able to corroborate with other similar projects. For example, this Peugeot 205 V16, a crazy Kit Car with 4 Yamaha YZF600 engines. So now you know, if any of you have a CRX and want to build your own Group B, you can take as a reference this mythical Civic CRX Rally Concept that we show you today.
