Friends, it happened again. We got complacent. In the last couple of months we’ve seen a street-legal amphibious 8x8 APC, all kinds of armored SUVs, a Chevy pickup converted into a video game assault vehicle, and even a freaking LS-swapped turbocharged RV. We thought, well, we’ve seen it all at this point.

Nope.

Venture over to our friends at AutoClassics and you’ll find this Acura Integra. It’s not particularly attention-getting, save for the widebody kit but then again, it’s an Integra. Body kits and Integras go together like fighter jets and Ray-Ban aviators – publically you pretend to ignore them but secretly you really want to be part of the club. However, we reckon this Integra might be faster than a fighter jet and a lot more dangerous. Why? Because mid-mount-twin-turbo-V8-right-behind-your-freaking-head. That’s why.

Gallery: Mid-Engine Twin-Turbo V8 Acura Integra

10 Photos

It’s not just any V8 either, but a massive 500 cubic-inch mill from – wait for it – a Cadillac Eldorado. That translates to 8.2 liters of displacement; it’s the largest production V8 ever made and yes, it’s crammed into every square inch of available space in the back of an Acura Integra, and even then the car needed wider hips to make it all fit. It has a custom exhaust obviously, not to mention piping for the pair of turbochargers. If that wouldn’t make for enough noise already, we can’t help but notice the intakes are literally inches away from where occupants’ ears would be. Driving this thing must be louder than a pride of lions having sex in the bomb bay of a B-1B, with all four engines going full afterburner on takeoff.

There is a method behind the madness, however. This engine comes from a period in Cadillac history where the V8 Eldorado was actually front-wheel drive. As such, this engine and its three-speed automatic rest comfortably on the original subframe in the Integra’s backside, which obviously was heavily modified for the conversion, but still, it was probably a lot easier than fabricating everything.

The car is for sale at Streetside Classics, and the description doesn’t tell us much beyond the bonkers engine swap. Cadillac suspension is underneath, at least in the back. A fuel cell sits up front where the four-cylinder used to be, but much of the car is stock. That was apparently part of the plan for this build – create the ultimate import sleeper. We’re not sure the widebody stance lends itself well to stealth, but it does have an undeniable Q-ship factor about it. At least, until the engine fires up and the boosted V8 atomizes the Integra’s rear tires.

Have we seen everything now? We'll say yes, if for no other reason than to see a Geo Metro powered by Space Shuttle boosters crop up next week.

Source: AutoClassics