I am officially stumped: never have I seen a Honda Civic equipped with a body kit that transforms it from a plain-jane economy car to something known as a Spex Elf. Here on eBay is a 1979 Civic with 5,000 original miles and is said to be one of only 20 ever produced. It’s also been outfitted with a Prelude engine and can convert between a targa, convertible and fully-enclosed configurations. It’s never left Canada, so you’ll likely be the only one on the road if you decide it’s worth bringing stateside.

If your eyes aren’t still burning from that interior, here’s some more information sourced from the 1st Gen Civic website: “In 1985 a couple of Canadian designers Paul Deutchman & Kell Warshaw manufactured in Montreal a kit car based on the first generation Honda Civic (1973-1979). The Spex Elf was a two seat fiberglass convertible with a sub frame for added structural integrity.” Well, that explains the highly custom nature of the finished product. It’s a bit jarring to see the original Civic steering wheel in what is certainly not an original interior.

The seller is quite excited about the fact that his has an engine from a Prelude, and perhaps rightfully so: the experts at the 1st Gen Civic website suspect only one was ever made in that configuration. Other parts-bin fixtures include tail lights from a Mercury Capri and headlights from the Accord sedan and hatchback of the same era.

Truth be told, I dig this completely random anecdote of kit-car history. However, the seller doesn’t think it’s a kit car by definition since it still is a Civic underneath; in my opinion, regardless of how easy it is to source parts for the mechanical bits, any damage that necessitates replacing body panels will make custom fabrication a requirement. For the Honda collector, though, the rarity of this Spex Elf may make the risks worth it.