At the Pistonheads Sunday service I briefly met the Dream Automotive guys when I lost my shit after seeing the Dream Auto Civic Type R. I took a few snaps, had a quick chat and we went off on our separate ways. After putting my pictures up, Andy from Dream got in touch with me via Instagram, and offered me to come up for a wander around the workshop to take pictures and hang out a bit, so a date was arranged and off I went. Bouncing along in my old Daihatsu round the dreaded M25 all the way up to Watford found me at a place where if you own a Honda, your dreams actually do come true. I got a bit lost, as is tradition, but as soon as I did I was greeted by an awesome array of cars and friendly faces.
Dream is a busy place and there’s always a project going on at some point, whether it’s one of Phil’s own builds or a customer’s own car. Sitting outside the shop was a UK Integra Type R awaiting diagnosis, a ratty old MX5 used to thrash around tracks and standing guard was the intimidating looking Dream Automotive Civic Type R complete with their own livery.
Inside the Dream factory, Phil was working on a very nice and unique Honda CRZ. It had a lightly modified engine, with an intake from a US Honda Jazz, Mugen bodykit, and being fitted were a wide arch kit imported from Malaysia. An already clean and fairly new car had it’s panels drilled, and the wide arches bolted on to fit wider wheels and rubber. A daunting task, but the end result was well worth it.
Next door to the main workshop was a room full of goodies. Painted rocker covers, harnesses, merchandise, big brake kits, and not to mention a couple of project cars. Phil’s own F20 Powered kit car on Jenvey ITB’s was sitting there ready and waiting for it’s next outing, with a customer’s EP3 Civic Type R sporting Ultra Racing Chassis braces hovering over it waiting for more work to be done.
One of the most insane builds here at Dream has to be the Mini. It looks super clean and totally unsuspecting from the outside. Even the massive over-fenders aren’t a giveaway to what this beast is hiding as wide arched Mini’s are a-plenty. Get up close and you’ll notice a side mounted intercooler, and in place of the back seats was an empty chasm where a Rotrex Supercharged K20 used to sit sending about 350bhp straight to the rear wheels. Why was there nothing in there at the moment? The customer felt like it needed more power.
Dream started off a couple of years back when Phil was a mechanic working for Honda. His talents were wasted however, so I can only assumed he Dreamed a Dream to fire up Dream Automotive and make it was it is today. For a tuning house that’s only been around for a few years, they’ve come a long long way in a very short time. Having one of the first new Type R’s before most other places has given Dream Automotive a head start with development and they’ve really sorted this car right out in such a short amount of time. So much so, it’s the safety car for the ongoing VTEC Challenge in the UK.
Currently Dyno’d at approx 375BHP this beast is not for the feint hearted. I also found this out the hard way when I asked Phil if he could take me out for a spin. Now, I’m not normally one to get scared being a passenger in a car but holy shit this thing is an absolute monster. Pouring with rain and soaking wet, private twisty roads of course and still on delivery tyres. The car was put through it’s paces but the thing still gripped like shit to a blanket.
Phil and all the guys involved with Dream Automotive are friendly, welcoming, and most importantly they’re really approachable. If you own a Honda and need anything from servicing to a full on engine conversion then Dream is for sure the way to go. While it’s on, you can see the Dream TypeR at the VTEC Challenge, it’d be a great way to see the guys in their element and also to check out a shit tonne of awesome Honda’s.
To find our more about the races then head over to VTEC Challenge
You can follow Dream Automotive on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and find them at Dream Automotive
My visit to Dream Automotive. Dreams do come true if you want your VTEC to go BWAAAA. At the Pistonheads Sunday service I briefly met the Dream Automotive guys when I lost my shit after seeing the Dream Auto Civic Type R.