This Subaru SVX-Swapped, Mid-Engine Insight Is Pure Mad Science

Georgia Tech students build bonkers GRM Challenge car

Budget builds exist primarily to keep enthusiasts from going broke while building fun cars. However, budgetary constraints harbor creativity and for the Georgia Tech students at Wreck Racing, that has generated some great builds over the years. Wreck Racing compete in Grassroots Motorsports Magazine’s “$20XX Challenge,” which limits budgets to a dollar figure equal to the year. Their most-recent built, this manic Subaru SVX-powered Honda Insight, breaks the mold for insanity.

Yes, you read that right. The 3.3-liter flat-six from Subaru’s weird sport coupe powers this aluminum-body economy car. Not only that, but Wreck mounted the flat-six behind the driver. The Subaru manual transmission hangs out the rear like an open-wheel formula car. The rear suspension is a push-rod design, also like a formula car. A bulkhead separates the driver from the engine in case of wayward flat-six parts. However, that fails to keep out the sound. This little Hondaru reverberates like few others.

Inside the cabin, the items are limited to only what’s needed to make it go. Windshield? Don’t need it. Door cards? Don’t need ‘em. Everything else but a wheel, shifter, and pedals? Toss ’em. Honda made the Insight a minimalist street car to maximum fuel efficiency; Wreck Racing finished the minimalist job to make it a race car. With a stock curb weight around a ton, why wouldn’t you? The Georgia Tech students clearly chopped much more weight from the car.

Check out ThatDudeInBlue driving this Subaru-powered beast around a Georgia airport. He calls it a “budget 911.” With a total budget under $2,016, this looks like something that would be built by someone who read a sentence about a Porsche once but has never seen one. And it’s phenomenal. To say it sounds “angry” understates what anger means. Believe it or not, this crew from Georgia Tech have perhaps built the best, ugliest Locost of all time.