Honda Civics get a bad rap, because of the people who don't know what they are doing. Most Civic owners just slap on a header, exhaust, cold air intake; and talk smack about how fast their car is. Others choose to make their cars look fast with big ugly body kits, huge cheese grater wings, and vinyl

But they have all the potential in the world, just depends on how much $ you're truly willing to spend. With a stock engine, it'll be slow (peppy enough for daily driving, but slow to most standards). This is where your $ comes in. Your best bet is to either rebuld the stock engine and put a turbo kit together (don't go cheap, get a good engine management system and get it professionally tuned if you go this route). Or, an engine swap is in order. Here is a nice read about the different engine swaps that are available:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...ad.php?t=19176 For general engine prices for a swap, check out
www.hmotorsonline.com