Even casual observers of pop culture know the Japanese habit of tweaking the English language in their ads and marketing. Ask anyone who's ever looked into a Bomex body kit. Native English speakers, and even some Japanese, clown on it, calling it "Engrish" or "Japlish," both patronizing words that fail to appreciate the mechanics of an evolving language.
English itself is just a hybrid of Latin and German tongues, with words, structures and ideas borrowed at random from other languages. The language thrives and evolves when non-native speakers add their DNA to it. So when you look deep enough into a full-blown, unedited Japanese-English sales pitch, you're likely to come up with golden poetic nuggets.
Case in point: the marketing materials for Mugen's new product lineup, highlighted by the four-door Civic Dominator and the Fit Spec D, were both revealed at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January.
We're accustomed to Mugen's impeccable execution with wheels and body panels, turning average Hondas into burly street fighters. We're used to hearing about some new motorsports achievement (although this year a dark rumor circulates about the company pulling from Super GT to focus on a homegrown LeMans-inspired endurance series).
What we did not expect was the premier Honda tuner, known globally for focused, naturally-aspirated power applications, to drop two different superchargers on us. You Want It, But Can't Have It Mugen offers this mission statement for the Dominator: "The concept of its development is 'Creation of the Supreme Civic,' a concept car embodied by near-future technologies we, Mugen, possess and dreams we, Mugen, embrace."
I translate to: "We wanted to build the ass-kicking Civic that those Nancies at Honda won't with parts we have under development."
We couldn't help notice how closely the Dominator's debut preceded American Honda's introduction of a four-door Civic Si. Why a Civic sedan, we asked? "Because it is the only four-door model Civic sold in Japan," said Mugen's Naoki Tashiro.Did Mugen inspire the design or even the motivation for Honda to release the four-door Civic? They look like very close cousins and we know Mugen has broadband access to the top levels of Honda command. "No, no," Tashiro assures us. "It was just a coincidence."
Through experience in endurance, One Make and touring car racing, Mugen got the jump on most tuners on the K20 learning curve. Now they're seeing how far they can take the engine by jamming volumes of air down its gullet. Both the K20 and the Fit L15 blowers were developed as a joint venture with Ogura Clutch and Mugen's motivations were clear:
"Combining de novo supercharger with the K20A engine, we can persuade the possibility of further devastating performance."
We're lost on the "de novo" part-must be some sort of French interjection-but we believe the intentions. Mugen claims the blower is good for more than 300hp on the Type R engine.So why a supercharger and not a turbo kit? Most Honda enthusiasts feel it's an inalienable right to love turbos, and Mugen has done turbo before. In 1985, they sold a boost kit for the CRX.
"We felt it was time to see other directions," Tashiro says. "We chose the supercharger because the layout, thermal aspect and characteristics [favored] it."
I translate this to: "You know, we already proved our deal on turbo. We own N/A tuning. The supercharger was the next step. For our next project, we'll probably rewrite the book on nitrous oxide."
A demon both inside and out, the Dominator fuels desires that will go largely unfulfilled. Have a look at those flares bulging out 20mm from the fender, or the center dual exhaust with oval finisher mimicking the fog light bezels. Check out the vented rotors and Brembo calipers, fed by stainless Micromesh lines, shrouded behind new forged 18x8 GP wheels shod with Michelin Pilots.
Get low to the ground and check out the front bumper arcing seamlessly into a flat undertray, or the rear metal blending into the pre-preg carbon rear diffuser, the material also used in the three-stage adjustable wing. Damn, even the rear door handles are relocated to the quarters in the rear windows.