Alpine Honda Civic Si - Alpine Demo Car - Interior - Car Audio Magazine

On either side of the steering column were placed four-way speaker setups, encompassing 6.5" midbass drivers from an Alpine SPR-176A component set, a full Alpine SPR-135A 5.25" component set, and an Alpine SWR-1221D 12" subwoofer, which was mounted vertically, facing the driver. The subwoofer, midbass driver, and components were all given their own dedicated fiberglass enclosures. The subwoofer enclosure has an internal volume of one cubic foot. The fiberglass cover panels fitted over the speakers continue the flow to the base of the single seat. Upon entering the vehicle from either door, you are greeted with two backlit Duratrans panels featuring the Alpine logo. Underneath these cover panels are where many other components reside. Some of them are the CPU for the DVD navigation, the brains for all of the monitors on the dash, an Alpine DHA-S680 DVD changer, XM tuner, and the control module for the Whelan strobe kit.

The Doors
Both doors were built out to accommodate several Alpine components. The passenger side door received an Alpine CDA-9813 CD receiver and an HDA-5460 hard disc drive player. The CDA-9813 is an AM/FM/CD/MP3 tuner that has an XM Satellite radio tuner mated to it. The driver's door received an Alpine PXA-H700 Multimedia Manager digital processor and DVA-5205 DVD video player. All components were placed within easy reach of the driver's hands. The bottom portion of each door received three nitrous bottles, courtesy of Nitrous Xpress. The bottles seem invisible at first because of the continuous paint scheme throughout the door, but if you look hard enough, you'll spot them. Fitting all the components required building a new door panel from scratch. Using MDF and ABS plastic, a base shape was started and formed once fleece and fiberglass were applied. Extra reinforcements were made in the door to accommodate all of the weight.

The Hatch
The first order of business in the hatch was to cut out the floor to accommodate a 1/8-inch steel plate box. This box houses three additional Alpine amplifiers for the system. The metal box was attached to the factory cross brace in the rear of the vehicle. The bottom panel of the secondary amprack is removable and quick disconnect plugs make servicing the amplifiers an efficient task. On either side of the hatch, towards the rear, is a three-way speaker setup, consisting of an Alpine SPR-176A 6.5" component set and a pair of Alpine SWR-1021D 10" subwoofers. Further forward, just behind the center seat, are two Alpine SWR-1541D 15" subwoofers. One-inch MDF pieces were cut and carefully placed in order to take up every nook and cranny of space. After securing all the pieces together, the volume of each enclosure ended up being about three cubic feet. The lower portion of the enclosure was provided with an exit for the port, which was extended using ABS plastic and attached to the rear of the seat (where the sub frequencies exit through the flange).

The centerpiece of the installation is what is called "the pod." This structure sits behind the single seat and extends into the hatch area. The pod was constructed using three large pieces (eventually acting as tiers for the whole structure) made of MDF and fiberglass. The idea was to have it slide forward and backward. Yato machined slider tracks and slider bearing blocks. There are two slider blocks and one rail per side of the vehicle. One-inch tube steel made up the bottom portion of the pod and was secured to the steel amplifier rack. The three sections were attached to one another with the mounting areas reinforced in aluminum. Each tier holds one Alpine amplifier per tier. From top to bottom they are the MRD-M1000, MRD-M500, and MRD-M300. The front portion of the pod has arms extending out, which hold eight Auto Meter gauges. The top two arms display the tachometer and speedometer on each side. The second arm holds two gauges and the third, one on each side.

Why have a moveable pod? A button, activated via an Alpine security remote, triggers something straight out of James Bond: the pod moves forward and the six previously mentioned arms surround you, displaying the vehicle's vital information. Absolutely sick! When looking from the rear, as the whole pod is moving forward, a "Non Stop Music" logo is revealed from beneath the pod. Getting out is just as simple. Press the button on the remote again and the arms slide back, allowing you to exit. Moving this mammoth contraption is a 24-inch linear actuator, secured underneath all of the cover panels.