Monday, 30 October 2017

Now You Can Buy the Honda Civic Type R’s Ferocious Engine in a Crate

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October 30, 2017 at 5:14 pm by Clifford Atiyeh | Photography by Michael Simari and the Manufacturer

Wish the Honda Civic Type R didn’t look like a Civic Type R? There’s now an alternative way to enjoy Honda’s turbocharged rocket without being seen driving such a thing on the street where all your neighbors can stare at you. It’s the Type R’s K20C1 crate engine.

Available for the first time in the United States through the Honda Performance Development (HPD) Racing Line program, the premium-fueled turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four can be yours for $6519.87 before tax and shipping. Where previous Type R engines—like the Civics they lived in—were offered only in Europe and Asia, now that the car is available here, so is the crate motor. Honda used the 2017 SEMA show to reveal the addition to its HPD Racing Line. In our testing of the Type R, we’ve noted that the engine is smooth, punchy, and—despite the turbo pumping up to 23.2 psi—not very laggy. Extracting all 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet is an easy, seamless job, thanks to a flat torque curve that peaks at 2500 rpm.

But unlike Dodge, which now offers a 707-hp Hellcrate engine to all comers, Honda is going to be seriously nitpicky about where this K20C1 engine goes. If you aren’t racing a Honda or Acura in a sanctioned series, you’re not eligible and will have to find your Type R motivator in a salvage yard. Honda makes buyers of the engine sign a lengthy contract that requires proof several times over that you’re not attempting to bolt it inside a Subaru BRZ or other non–Honda/Acura product and, essentially, that your creation is intended for on-track competition. Also unlike Dodge, Honda offers no warranty, assuming that parts sold by HPD are only to be used in racing, not on the street.

Still, amateur racers with enough time, cash, and heroic wrenching skills could apply the Type R treatment to new and classic Hondas—if they can find a sanctioning body that will allow it. Some of the more logical, cost-effective choices might include the Fit and the Prelude. And remember, this is practically the same 2.0-liter engine used in the 2018 Accord, so the engine should bolt right in for a quick 54-horse upgrade. That is, if your marriage can withstand the strain of buying a brand-new, comfortable family sedan and turning it into a race car.