Throwback: The 1,029hp Minivan – Speedhunters

2024 IntroBisi Ezerioha and his company Southern California-based company Bisimoto Engineering, need no introduction.

For years, Bisi has been cooking up cars that are both fast and interesting, and back in 2014, Larry and Mike featured one of his most iconic creations – a Honda Odyssey packing four-figure horsepower output. What’s this minivan on steroids all about? Let’s check it out in another throwback post from the Speedhunters archive…

2014 Feature

Bisi Ezerioha knows how to build a fast and completely functional automobile, and how to do it with show car-like attention to detail and aesthetics. In a world increasingly focused on stance and looking cool, Bisi is all about keeping performance alive in a big way.

The thing I admire most about Bisi is the way that he likes to play with unconventional vehicles. Sure you’ve seen his incredible Porsche builds, but it’s not all sports cars and exotics for him. The man is just as famous for creating more unusual cars like his Honda Insight drag car or popular Honda Civic wagon project.

And if you’re looking for unconventional, this Bisimoto project is about as good as it gets. It’s a 1,000+ horsepower Honda Odyssey minivan, and from the moment we saw it on display at the 2013 SEMA Show, we knew we needed to get hold of it for a full feature.

Thankfully, Larry was able to spend some time with the van on the streets of Southern California and now we can share the full story on this one-of-a-kind creation.

Bisi likes nothing more than blazing new paths, and when the minivan build started, the goal was to prove that any car could be made fun – even if it was originally designed to haul families in comfort.

So starting with a showroom-fresh 2014 Honda Odyssey, Bisimoto got to work on building something for the horsepower-hungry racer who happens to have a family.

The main idea was to build a radical sleeper out of this minivan, and to be honest an Odyssey with even four or five hundred horsepower would be more than enough for crazy reactions and huge grins on the street.

But this is Bisimoto, and the plan wasn’t just to build an Odyssey that was deceivingly quick, but to build something completely off the wall. Look under the hood of this van and you’ll find the same J35 V6 that powers the stock version, but that’s about where the similarities end.

The motor was torn down and completely rebuilt in Bisimoto’s climate-controlled clean room with heavy-duty parts like Arias 9.0:1 forged pistons, R&R rods, Golden Eagle sleeves and ARP head studs and bolts. Up top, the heads received a full porting job and the engine was also fitted with a set of Bisimoto/Web Level 2.4 cams and a valve train from Supertech.

All of the engine work was done to prepare the motor for a healthy dose of forced induction, which would come in the form of a Bisimoto custom turbo kit that uses a huge Turbonetics BTX7265 turbine, RG45 wastegate and Godzilla blow-off-valve.

The kit also includes an enormous Spearco intercooler that dominates the van’s front end. It’s one of the few external signs that hint at the Odyssey’s performance.

Elsewhere, the engine is controlled by a full AEM Infinity 8 system and is filled with high-end PurOl Elite synthetic motor oil. It’s also been built to run an E85 flex-fuel system.

Since this is a street vehicle, the boost and power can be set at various levels, with the high boost setting putting out a mind-bending 1,029hp. That’s not just sleeper status, it’s pure insanity!

One of the biggest challenges on the project came not from the motor, but from the transmission set-up. Like all minivans, the Odyssey is only sold with an automatic transmission – so Bisi went through the tremendous task of converting the van to a manual using a 6-speed gearbox from an Acura TL Type S.

The transmission swap was far from a bolt-in affair, considering the routing of the pedals and the placement of the Odyssey’s shifter. Sure it might have been easier to get the 6-speed in there however they could, but the goal was to have everything look as factory as possible – regardless of the work involved.

While the van is putting out an incredible amount of horsepower, the Odyssey was designed for the street – so plenty of effort was taken to make it look as cool as possible.

If it weren’t for that huge intercooler popping out of the front bumper, you could easily be fooled into thinking this was just a VIP-inspired street cruiser.

Rather than running a stiff competition suspension, the Odyssey has been fitted with an adjustable set-up from Air Ride Equipment, which can make the big van hit the deck with the flip of a switch.

Helping even more in the style department is a set of Tarmac R40 wheels from Fifteen52.

The custom-built wheels measure 20 inches in diameter and are wrapped in 255/30R20 Toyo T1 Sport tires at each corner.

An important part of the vision for the build was to have a van that was not only fast but could carry a family around in comfort – just as the standard Odyssey does.

Not only does the minivan have all the creature comforts of the stock model, but it’s also got some cool luxury touches like full leather upholstery from an outfit called SOS.

There’s also a one-off Bisimoto 4-point roll cage with custom powder-coating by RJ Coatings.

Let’s not forget the family goodies, like the genuine Honda roof-mounted accessory box and the Recaro child seat.

As with every car that Bisimoto builds, the attention to detail is just top-notch – whether it’s the placement of the air suspension controls in the center console.

Or the Racepak IQ3 dash system cleanly set into the factory instrument hood.

The result of Bisimoto’s work is images like this: a minivan destroying its front tires on the street. Even at daily driver boost settings (600hp), there’s no traction in gears 1-3 and at full boost, you won’t find traction in any gear.

As Bisi says, that just means less stress on the drivetrain!

Even with all the crazy cars he has built, we’re told the Odyssey has been the shop’s most popular project yet. When you think about how off-the-wall this thing is, it’s not surprising at all.

Mike Garrett
Instagram: japanifornia

Photos by Larry Chen
Instagram: larry_chen_foto