If you were stranded in the desert, what would you take with you to survive? Think about that for a minute. Then think about all of the horrible jokes you've heard that start off with the three guys who are stuck in the desert, and the last guy who brings a car door so when it gets hot he can roll down the window.

All kidding aside, what are the absolute bare essentials that a person needs to survive when normal everyday luxuries aren't available? Food, water, maybe an iPod? There's a different list for each person, but when Devon Spencer was faced with this dilemma, he knew exactly what he needed to hang on.

We met Spencer a few years back when he had this same Acura RSX with leather clad seats, air conditioning, a fully functional supplemental restraint system, and a 50-state legal exhaust system supplied from the factory (read: dullsville). Spencer was taking full advantage of all the luxuries that came equipped on his RSX.

While Spencer liked the bells and whistles, he was miserable, hating every minute of driving a car that had potential for so much more. He knew that the luxuries he was taking advantage of were completely unnecessary for what he was trying to accomplish with the DC5. Spencer was looking for a car he could drive on the street that was absolutely uncomfortable, loud, and only somewhat reliable. Spencer wanted to take his time going over speed bumps because the car was too low, he wanted to make sure there was no rain in the forecast for the day so that he could take the car out and enjoy it to the fullest. To many, this may seem like ruining a brand new car, but to Spencer, it was all part of making his dreams coming true.

The only way to accomplish these goals was to get down to the bare essentials - flashy enough to turn some heads, and at the same time able to back up the aggressive lines of the car with some power under the hood, all while using only what was necessary to get the point across.

Spencer started with the interior, the center of it all, where he spaced the rear passenger seats in order to make room for the six-point Cusco cage and rear mounting points for the four-point Takata harnesses. In case of a flat tire, Spencer had to call a good friend to come to the rescue, as the spare tire and accessories were jettisoned in favor of a color-matched spare tire well.

While seated in the Kevlar-backed Bride pilot's seat, Spencer navigates the RSX by muscling a Spoon Sports steering wheel attached to a Freeze Frame quick-release hub. Throughout the cabin, matching garnishes were themed after the Integra Type R (what the RSX is in Japan) door panels and floor mats. Matching upholstered pieces around the trio of Defi gauges are placed in the space where the climate controls once resided. The climate controls were relocated into the glove box, giving the passenger full control of the in-cabin temperature.

Keeping his bare essential theme in mind, in-car entertainment was kept to a minimum with only an Alpine visual display unit transmitting tunes to a set of matching Alpine door speakers. The tunes coming from those speaks mask an obnoxious buzzing from the upgraded Bosche fuel pump in the RSX.

Parallel parking is a difficult task to accomplish in Spencer's RSX, mostly because the power steering pump and its components were removed and replaced with a pulley from an EP3. Along with the power steering went the cruise control, which really eliminated the majority of the unneeded luxuries.

While things were being removed from the engine bay, the guys at JDMotorsports in Miami, Florida, were hard at work adding more to the engine to make it a few hundred horsepower more appealing. Starting with the top-mount One-Fab turbo manifold that curls up to hold the Precision GT3561 turbo in place, forced air is fed through a custom polished turbo piping setup and to a front-mount intercooler, and then straight into the intake manifold that gets a bit of extra help from a www.rcrewracing.com intake manifold plenum.

From there, it is inside the combustion chambers where air and fuel meet in holy matrimony thanks in part to a set of 880cc injectors that are programmed by Hondata K-Pro engine management. The injectors work hand-in-hand with a BDL rail and an AEM pressure regulator. Boost is regulated with a Tial wastegate that works well with the K-Pro, while a Tial blow-off valve helps preserve the life of the turbo.

The RSX's negative seven degrees of camber at the rear wheels help to get the 18x9 +29 offset Advan RS GTR Face wheels to fit inside the wheel arches. Each roller is attached to the five-lug hubs thanks to 20 Rays lug nuts. A Zeal Function X coil-over suspension is responsible for the lowered stance that tucks the tires under the flared Top Secret fenders. The Zeals are 32-way adjustable and match the Endless brake calipers that hide behind the front wheels of the RSX. Progress sway bars work in unison with an Ingalls camber kit, and chassis stiffening comes in the form of a pair of shiny front and rear Mugen strut tower braces.

What really makes this RSX a head-turner is the aggressive-looking exterior. Spencer admits that the outer mods are the one area of the build that he looked passed when trying to stay on track for his minimalist goal. A complete Top Secret aero kit was mated to the RSX and sprayed custom Chidori Forrest Pearl that glistens under the hot Miami sun. The Top Secret aero consists of front and rear bumpers, side skirts, 20mm flared fenders, and the super slick carbon-fiber hood. The stock mirrors were discarded in order to make room for the Ganador mirrors that also help to improve aerodynamics, along with the authentic Mugen wing that can be found mounted to the top of the trunk lid. A flick of the switch and the JDM ITR headlights are illuminated by a set of 8000k www.ignitedperformance.com HID headlights, perfect for those mischievous late-night drives in Miami.

Sometimes it's cool to drive a car that is somewhat unreliable and totally uncomfortable. Devon Spencer is perfectly comfortable being uncomfortable in his RSX, a feeling that many may be familiar with. Besides, who knows when the opportunity to bring a chick in your car might pop up, and you have to explain how to fasten a four-point harness while you innocently cop a feel? Ladies, look out!

Devon Spencer’s Acura RSX Gallery