Tomoyuki Sasaki’s Civic Ferio is one of my favorite Honda builds of all-time. It’s incredibly well-built inside and out. It’s damn near perfect. Every time I see it in person the paint is just immaculate and he’s always looking to add new stuff to the car. What many may not remember, or not know at all, is that this car started out early on as just a very simple ’95-98 Civic Ferio slammed on CCW wheels. The engine bay wasn’t done, it was just a stock brown color, and overall just a street cruiser. Once Tactical Art got a hold of the car, they tore it down, caged it, found a 99-00 Ferio VTi donor car, and meticulously swapped over all the panels before painting it. The idea behind the car was to build something that was very much “USDM”-inspired while putting a traditional Japanese twist on it. The result is something pretty unique to itself. It’s a mix of both sides of the cultural spectrum while still standing above most Hondas in sheer quality and execution. Most of the parts used on the car were also aftermarket components from popular U.S. tuning companies, as you will see in the heavily Skunk2-equipped engine bay. The most unique aspects of this build comes from the cockpit. The car is fully gutted and caged throughout. Even the rear speaker panel has been cut out to make room for the cage…
I shot this feature for Super Street last year but the car hasn’t changed much since then. The fenders are now aftermarket, wider, fiberglass fenders and the CCW D110 wheels have been replaced with Rays Gram Lights wheels with a bigger Falken tire combo. I don’t know how much more he plans to change up the car but I think it is great just the way it is. When I shot this feature, I wanted to show off the details of the interior so I paid most of my attention to that particular area of the car. As stated, the paint is beautiful on this build and this Civic is one of the builds that looks every bit as good as it does in photos. Honestly, the photos might not even do it justice. It is one of the best builds that Tactical Art put together back when Atsuki and Yasu worked together and it continues to be one of the landmark “USDM” styled builds that Japanese enthusiasts look to for inspiration currently in 2016. Below are the photos that were published in Super Street magazine in April of this year along with many unpublished shots that didn’t make the spread. The feature was shot in mid-2015 but didn’t run until this year. Most of the time features run pretty soon after they are shot but this one sat on the back burner for awhile before it was published. It happens from time to time. If anything, I think these photos sat on my desktop and I kind of just forgot to submit them because there were so many great cars waiting in line to be published at the time. It doesn’t take anything from this build at all because it remains one of the top-tier Hondas being showcased in the Kansai region of Japan. Enjoy the photos and make sure to click the attached links below if you want to learn more about the car or are hearing/seeing it for the first time…
Check out the digital version of the original Super Street feature HERE…
| Tuning Menu | |
|---|---|
| OWNER: | Tomoyuki Sasaki |
| LOCATION: | Ikeda-Shi, Osaka, Japan |
| OCCUPATION: | Owner of REVIVE Polish and Gloss |
| ENGINE: | ’96 1.8L Honda B18C (Integra Type R); Hasport engine mounts; Mugen JASMA 4-1 exhaust manifold; Skunk2 Pro Series intake manifold, adjustable cam gears, composite fuel rail, 80mm throttle body; Alpha Series half-size radiator, cooling hoses, oil cap, radiator cap; Blox Racing fuel pressure regulator; -AN fuel fittings, fuel lines; Tactical Art custom intake pipe, 60mm stainless straight-pipe exhaust; Downstar Inc. engine bolts, accessory hardware |
| DRIVETRAIN: | S80 five-speed manual transmission; K-Tuned B-series shifter |
| ENGINE MANAGEMENT: | Hondata S300; Rywire Mil-spec engine harness |
| FOOTWORK & CHASSIS: | Tactical Art coilovers with 20kg front, 18kg rear spring rates; custom rollcage, rear speaker decklid delete; Function7 rear subframe brace, Ultra-Light control arms |
| BRAKES: | Rywire brake line kit, custom steel lines |
| WHEELS & TIRES: | 16×8.5″ CCW D110 wheels; 225/45R16 Advan Neova AD08 |
| EXTERIOR: | OEM ’99-’00 Ferio Vi-RS grille, front bumper, rear bumper, trunk; USDM ’99-’00 headlights, taillights; custom carbon-fiber canards; Tactical Art/Exceed JP front lip; engine bay repainted in Tactical Art Gray; Mechadock/Exceed JP carbon-fiber hood; Lamborghini Arancio Ishtar paint |
| INTERIOR: | Bride Zeta III Sport seats; Takata Race safety harnesses; MOMO steering wheel; NRG steering hub, quick release |
| THANKS YOU: | Tactical Art; REVIVE Auto Detailing; CCW; Exceed JP; Yasutaka Shimomukai; Atsuki Tsubouchi; Phaze2 Japan; Phaze2 family; Raw Heart; The Chronicles; Mechadock; Autofashion USA; DPK Garage; Skunk2 Racing; Evasive Motorsports; Rywire Motorsport Electronics |
One of my favorite cars ever. SO clean and yet very simple without any crazy aero.