Not much going on today. Hope you guys enjoyed those last two video clips from yesterday. With basketball over and the majority of other tv shows going on leave until the fall, I’ve been looking for things to watch to keep me occupied. Old Best Motoring vids seem to be doing the job right now and I’m watching all the ones where Hondas are heavily involved. It’s just a reminder of how the Japanese do Hondas overseas and how crazy some of these machines are when they’re put to use. I mean, I love the U.S. Honda scene but Japan is totally different. Like Takeshi from Type_K said “we make Hondas cool”…that’s very true and I am proud to be apart of that community but the Japanese shops overseas are busy making shit fast and it’s a blast to watch these videos to see them in action. I’m currently watching Best Motoring Volume 32: Civic Type R Returns. It’s their featurette on the debut of the now defunct next gen. FD2 Type R. The middle to end of the video is where it gets crazy though with their touge battles. I haven’t had the chance to finish it yet but here’s a animated gif of the Spoon EK9 just to give you a guys glimpse of what’s going on. This thing is K-swapped, 250PS, Spoon ECU, exhaust, LSD, dampers, calipers, everything…Fucking thing hauls ass through the mountains…(Allow the gif to load, it’s pretty large so it may take a little bit to load…)

Awesome…

Anyways, I was talking to Big Mike today on AIM about his car and what aero options he had. I really don’t know too much about BB4 Preludes other than the fact that I think the dashboard looks like it belongs on a fuckin spaceship or something but Big Mike is knowledgeable of all things Prelude so he was showing me all the JDM kit options available for his car. He was telling me about this one kit and I tried to google it and I discovered the incestrious love child of a CB-chassis Accord and BB4 Prelude…

Fuckin thing looks like a 4-door Prelude! Whaaaaat…Designers at Honda must have gotten lazy when they decided to make this CC7-chassis Accord. This is the UK-version apparently and is dubbed the Honda “Accord Saloon” or something but in Japan, they are the Honda Ascot Innova (Fancy ass name!). The only difference between the two I think is in the window pillar area. The Japanese one had different framed windows from the Saloon model….

The rear looks even more strange. Taillights look like stretched out 4-door Civic Ferio tails…and everything from the bumpers down look almost exactly like a CB-bodied Accord. I’m pretty sure they used the CB as the base because everything about it, particularly the time frame in which it was built, relates to what our 90-93 Accord would be…

It’s weird to see the older Japan/Europe exclusive Hondas…It almost makes you understand why most of them didn’t make it over here, because they look awkward as hell. Like the Orthia wagons, other model Ascots, and the new Civic Type R hatchbacks…ehhh, weird…then they had that partnership with Rover where they were making Rover 400s and 600s and whatever the fuck. It’s just confusing trying to keep up with all the other models they have over there. Americans are simple people, haha. Just give us one of each, not like one that looks like the other one or some Accord/Prelude merged cousin or some shit…

Here’s some more info on the Ascot Innova if you guys are interested, direct from the bringer of all knowledge (True or not), Wikipedia… *Click on the links only if you enjoy mass confusion and Geena Davis* I’m not a fan of either… =P

Launched on March 5, 1992, the (Japanese: Ascot Innova) was also based on the CB Accord underpinnings, but was given an all-new, modern-looking and rounded body, with styling similar to the Honda Prelude BB4 series (1992-1996). The Innova retained the original Ascot’s six-light greenhouse layout and horizontal taillights, as well as long, sleek and low body proportions (as opposed to the second-generation Ascot’s upright stance and more Accord CF-like rear end). The Innova was fitted with frameless side glazing to provide for the “pillared hardtop” look, thus being Honda’s answer to cars like the Toyota Carina ED/Toyota Carina EXiV, Nissan Bluebird ARX and Mitsubishi Emeraude.

The Ascot Innova was available in two four-cylinder engine choices: the 2.0-litre F20A unit, producing 135 PS in the less expensive 2.0iC and 2.0i versions, and 150  in the 2.0Si trim, and the H-series 2.3-litre H23A engine fitted in the export versions of the Prelude, producing 165 HP (the 2.3-litre versions were designated 2.3Si-Z). Interestingly, while the 2.0-litre versions maintained the 1695 mm width which allowed them to remain in the favorable tax class, the 2.3-litre Innovas were 1710 mm wide, as the engine displacement didn’t allow them to remain in the lower tax band anyway.

A 4-wheel steering system like the one in the Prelude was made available for the 2.0i, 2.0Si and 2.3Si-Z versions. Apart from the cheapest 2.0iC version, which came with a 5-speed manual transmission, all Ascot Innovas came with a 4-speed automatic. The Ascot Innova range started at ¥1,558,000 for the 2.0iC in the Tokyo sales area, while the most expensive 2.3Si-Z fetched ¥2,992,000 in Sapporo area, not including extra charges for options such as 4-wheel steering, moonroof, passenger airbag or ABS. The television advertising campaign was built around the slogan “Hardtop Innovation” and featured the American actress Geena Davis.

The Innova itself remained a JDM-only model, and a Honda Primo exclusive, with no JDM sister cars, but it spawned a very closely related European derivative, which was made in Swindon, UK and marketed in Europe as Honda Accord saloon in lieu of the Accord sedans sold in most other markets. The European Accord and the Ascot Innova differ only slightly, with the Accord being wider and featuring framed windows.

The European Accord was in turn the base for the Rover 600 saloon, developed under Honda’s long-standing relationship with the British Rover Group. The Rover 600 and the Swindon Accord also shared two engine options not available for the Ascot Innova – Honda’s F18A 1.8-litre unit and Rover’s 2.0-litre L-series turbodiesel. The Ascot Innova remained in production until 1996, while the European Accord saloon continued until 1998, when it was replaced with an all-new model.”

Imagine if one of these was done up with like a K20a or something…