The years of 2000-2010 are sure to be recognized as a car craze decade. Is it practical to build a 500hp 8.3L 9mpg Dodge sport truck? Or how about the new Saturn Sky (yes Saturn) sports car that even hardcore import devotees are considering to buy. Whether we owe this sudden surge of car interest to NASCAR, Speed Channel, or dare I say The Fast and the Furious we cannot say for sure, but let's enjoy this while we can before our daily driver consists of something Mr. Bean would drive.
In this case we have the Desmond Performance HIN winning 2004 Acura TSX. In what other time period would a modified luxury family car be accepted? Not only accepted, but respected. While shooting in downtown Charlotte, NC, 100s of people were nosey enough to walk in front of the camera and ask what they were looking at. Some thought it was a BMW, others a concept car, but certainly not a Honda/Acura TSX family sedan. The TSX is in fact a radical version of the US Accord. Apparently the big wigs in charge of Honda felt that applying such a radical redesign to the best-selling Accord would hurt their US sales. So instead of shafting the design, they slapped an Acura emblem on there and the rest is history.
Honda engines are well known for their response to bolt-ons. An Injen Cold Air Intake filters out the hot and humid North Carolina air for better breathing. DC Sports Header and Cat Back Exhaust take care of the post combustion fumes effectively. SUN Auto Hyper Voltage and Ground System keeps the currents running smoothly, while a bright red JDM valve cover seals the deal of this K series 2.4 liter.
A wise man once said if you want to drastically change the appearance of your car change the wheels. Desmond Performance chose 19" Racing Hart CX 2 piece wheels wrapped in Nitto NT555 tyres. Just behind the wheels rests Power Slot rotors, Neuspeed Race Springs, Koni Yellows, and a SPC Camber Kit to assure that their wallet won't go towards new rubbers once every month. To strengthen the chassis and add a visual boost a Comptech Titanium Series Strut Bar was added.
What really separates this TSX from others is the wild Lucky Star body kit. The lines of the body kit reflect the factory edginess that Acura/Honda seems to be aiming for as of late. A custom silver carbon fiber splitter adds a huge visual cue to the front bumper, but also adds headaches when trying to pull in and out of parking lots.
The interior is loaded with more goodies than the G.I. JOE aisle at Toys R Us. Except instead of hand grenades and battle rifles this TSX has numerous 7" video monitors and a killer JL Audio sound system. The custom fiberglass and suede trunk is cratered with 4 Alpine 6.5" speakers and 2 JL Audio 10" W6v2 Subwoofers to get the eardrums nice and numb. A custom glass amp cover with the Acura emblem sandblasted on top and Desmond Performance logo embroidered throughout the interior would even make the Toys R Us giraffe break his neck looking.
Considering how unusual a TSX is around the import scene, and the amount of custom work done to this car, it's easy to see why this TSX takes top honors at HIN events. Long live the car craze!