Graduate students at Clemson University have completed building one of the coolest Honda Civics you’ll ever see. It still looks like the current Civic, but a lot of what lies under the surface has changed, none more important than the car’s powertrain. No longer is this Civic running solely on a traditional gas engine. It still has one in the form of a 2.0-liter, supercharged, four-cylinder engine, but it also features an electric motor that helps bring the car’s total output to 600 horsepower.

What Makes the Honda Civic Deep Orange 9 So Special?

It’s hard to imagine this is the work of 19 graduate students from Clemson University. Sure, it had Honda’s sponsorship and blessing when it started this project, but the result is even more impressive than we thought it would be.

For the record, the project is called Deep Orange 9.

On the surface, the Honda Civic looks like it’s modified for race-spec purposes. There’s a big spoiler at the back, a smaller lip spoiler at the front, wider fenders, and a smattering of orange graphics spread throughout the car. You’d be excused if you thought that this Civic was the work of a certified aftermarket company, but it’s not. Graduate students made this stunning-looking Civic. That fact alone dials up how impressive the product is.

It’s not all about the Civic’s looks, either. That’s just one part of a bigger project equation that also includes significant modifications made to its powertrain. Whereas a standard Civic has a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine that produces 158 horsepower, the students from Clemson University opted to use a similarly sized, albeit supercharged, engine that’s tuned to produce more than 400 horsepower. The engine was also installed in the middle of the car, and all that power goes to the two rear axles. The front axle, on the other hand, is powered by an electric motor that produces 200 horsepower.

Beyond its unique powertrain, the Civic Deep Orange 9 also received a semi-active suspension system that can adapt to changing road surfaces at a drop of a hat. This specific setup is not entirely different from the ones used by rally cars, which itself is interesting because the Civic Deep Orange 9 is supposedly as fast as current rallycross racers. The nod to rally racing can also be gleaned through the prism of the car’s four-wheel steering, which helps the Civic pivot better in tight turns, a common occurrence in rally racing.

If these details aren’t impressive enough, the Civic also features regenerative brakes, which help keep the battery juiced up throughout a specific race. According to the students who worked on the car, fuel economy improves by 30 percent as a result of the hybrid powertrain. And yet, it’s still a race car at its core.

The car is nothing but the result of two years’ worth of hard work from 19 graduate students at Clemson University. That’s a shame because I can already tell that a lot of people within the auto industry would be lining up to drive or race this car if Honda affords that opportunity to the public.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2018 Honda Civic.

Read our full review on the 2018 Honda Civic Coupe.