good idea, done wrong. They needed to take cues from other successful bodies with this motor setup.
The Alpine-Renault Turbo 5. The Ford Shogun. Even Bertone had an exotic little rear engined hatch.
I would have, since we're talking out-of-bounds motors, used the SVX H6 motor, and an over-under trans. The only common over under trans I can think of are from Cadillacs, which are of course - Automatic. But still, I'm sure ZF must have something for the application.
Were I to do the RWD thing, I would start off with a honda motor - Why not ? The KE motor and trans from the S2000, side exit exhaust - Yeah, it's been done before but the weight balance of this Civic is going to be hellish.
If he wanted to kill off the trunk entirely, then the MR2's setup would be ideal.
-> Steve