The Honda Odyssey minivan, produced since 1994 and currently in its fifth generation, is many things – affordable, as it starts from a little over $38k, extremely spacious, safe, and comfortable, among other things. But nobody ever dared to say it's fast – unless it was part of a soccer mum/hockey dad ironic joke.
Nowadays, few such minivans are left on sale in the United States because times have changed, and everyone seems only to want crossovers, SUVs, and trucks. Passenger cars are fewer and fewer each year, and MPVs could even make it onto the endangered species list if they were 'animals' and not just cars that shuttle you back and forth from grocery shopping, school, training, and work.
However, back in the day, there was an abundance of them, and there's no problem securing an old and beaten example from the turn of the century if you want to play with it. To continue our example, back in December 2023, we found out that the good yet sometimes crazy folks over at the BoostedBoiz channel on YouTube decided to play a joke on anyone thinking that a beaten old 2001 Honda Odyssey minivan can't demonstrate that the second generation had some fire breathing within.
Granted, they used a bit of new age trickery on it as the crew performed a bonkers Tesla Model S Plaid swap to make it as fast as a space shuttle – but on the ground. Well, it's a bit of an exaggeration, but please forgive us for this tendency to derail our thoughts when looking at a people mover packing 1,020 horsepower of EV energy! Anyway, of course, the next order of business was to test its mettle at the local quarter-mile dragstrip (BMP).
A few days later in December, they did precisely that – and against a higher-powered 1,111-horsepower Whipple-supercharged Ford F-150 XL that belongs to none other than Cleetus McFarland. That was a showdown for the ages between a differently-colored Odyssey sleeper and a spectacular ICE-powered pickup truck – and the winner was established through a traditional two-out-of-three challenge. Anyway, that wasn't enough action for the big and fast Honda minivan.
Recently, they were back at Bradenton Motorsports Park for a chance to win the trophy at a Street Car Takeover event, where they met a raft of tough opponents, according to ImportRace. The first was a blue Ford Mustang GT, and the Plaid-powered Honda made short work of it with a 10.11s versus 12.59s victory. Secondly, a fast truck came along, but again, it was no match for the mighty Tesla minivan, given the 10.22 versus 11.93s result. Thirdly, after a quick 10.04s solo run, an even faster, dark, and menacing pickup truck appeared – but it lost for just three-tenths of a second.
Last but certainly not least, the student met with the teacher – sort of. More precisely, the Tesla-swapped 2001 Honda Odyssey minivan faced off with a Model S Plaid and again got the track lights to signal victory for the sleeper, even though it was a bit slower off the mark. The reason for the last two victories with slightly slower times is simple – they were participating in the 10.0 index class, which they won! If you want more details, we have embedded below the video from the BoostedBoiz channel referring to their new performance and the car's nickname – 'Plaidessey!'
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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