Fit For RacingSpoon Sports/Opak Racing Honda FitJames said it first, the Honda Fit is pretty cool for a bone-stock econobox. But like you, we were curious about its sporting potential, so we sought out the full race version built by Spoon Sports of Japan. Although not quite as badass as the Renault Espace F1, Spoon's Fit is one of the most compelling production-based racers we've driven. Not because it's fast, but because it's a high-performance salute to every budget racer out there. Anyone with a few dollars, access to pipe bending and TIG welding equipment, and a sense of humor can build and race a Fit-something we'd highly recommend, if only to understand the purity and sheer joy of racing.
Number 96, Spoon Sports' second race-spec Fit, was built by Spoon's U.S. importer, Opak Racing, for the sole-purpose of competing in the NASA 25 Hour Endurance race at Thunderhill. It started life at Type One, Spoon's tuning shop in Tokyo as a "body in white" acquired directly from Honda. This bare chassis, which comes without any sound deadening material, was then seam and spot welded to further reinforce the already stiff stock quasi-frame sheetmetal structure.
The Fit's space-maximizing open interior then received a 7-point cage, which tied the rear strut-towers to the rest of the car's stiffer floor structure. Type One also fabricated a fuel filler assembly that feeds the stock fuel tank located under front seats. Later, Opak Racing revised the fuel system to use a rear-mounted fuel cell.
Everything else on the race car was transferred from a stock JDM 2003 Fit with the exception of the 5-speed manual transmission, which is not available in Japan. Spoon's track cars are known for using primarily stock components in their powertrains. No turbochargers, fancy individual throttle bodies, overbuilt high-compressions engines, or sequential gearboxes are involved-just well engineered, factory parts proven to withstand the abuses of racing.
The simple and bulletproof powertrain package of this Fit is anchored by a Spoon blueprinted and balance L15A engine, with an additional baffle inside the stock oil pan. Spoon also swapped the spark plugs, added a panel air filter in the stock airbox, and retuned the economy-minded ECU. Power output is now a whopping 90 hp at 5700 rpm at the wheels, the lowest dyno number we've ever printed. Why so low? We think it is the toy-like JDM plastic intake runners and smaller mechanical throttle body, since even with a race exhaust, the Spoon Fit makes less power than the stock 2007 U.S. model.
Driving Spoon's lunchbox on wheels, as it became known at the track, is a crash course in maintaining momentum-a purist racing philosophy. Weighing in at only 1,972 pounds, almost 500 pounds less than the stock car, and riding on sticky Yokohama A048 tires, the Spoon Fit's major advantages are high cornering speeds and exceptionally short braking distances. With responsive turn in and race car grip, but not enough power to create any truly hairy situations, the Spoon Fit is the perfect tool for the beginning racer, highlighting the importance of carrying speed all around the track.