The standard Honda Civic Type R is incredibly practical, with up to 46.3 cubic feet of cargo space when the back seats are lowered. Yet engineers at Honda's Swindon, UK factory ("A place where dreams become a reality") have taken it even further with Project P, a concept version of a Type R pickup truck.

The engineers took a preproduction Civic Type R and removed most of the upper bodywork behind the car's B-pillar, replacing it with some roll bars and a diamond-plate metal bed. The hatchback's signature giant rear wing is still present, and in a clever touch, can be removed to permit easy access to the bed for loading cargo. The work was all completed outside of working hours as a passion project for the engineers.

Mechanically, the car retains the Type R's turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four engine, with 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, as well as its six-speed manual transmission and adaptive suspension. Honda says the pickup concept will hit 62 miles per hour in less than 6 seconds, and pegs the top speed around 165 mph. That's only just behind the regular Type R's top speed of 170 mph.

As a show car, Project P will be used at Honda events to transport and show off the company's lawnmowers and other power equipment. But the engineers behind the project would like to put it to a slightly more grueling test.

"We are even considering taking it to the Nürburgring to see if we can take the record for the fastest front-wheel-drive pickup truck," project lead Alyn James said. Don't forget that the regular Type R hatch already set the record for the fastest front-drive car the 'Ring with a scorching lap time of 7 minutes, 43.8 seconds.

Before you ask, no, you can't buy this yourself. Honda's press release explicitly says that there are "no plans to put the concept into production." Then again, if you own a Type R and you're talented enough with an angle grinder, anything is possible.