Civic Type R Crate Engine Now Available With ECU and Wiring Harness
Now, anyone can buy a K20C1 Civic Type R crate engine, wiring harness, and ECU to swap in their race car.
Honda fans are well aware of the many virtues of the turbocharged K20C1 used in the mighty Civic Type R. It’s by far the hottest engine in Honda’s current lineup, and has also been sold as a crate engine for a while now, albeit only to Honda Racing Line members and race teams. Now, however, the automaker is going to sell a Civic Type R crate engine to anyone who has the dough to buy one – as well as an ECU and wiring harness to make installation a bit easier.
The Civic Type R crate engine itself comes with a long block, alternator, turbocharger, and starter motor. Meanwhile, the “Control Package,” as Honda calls it, consists of an HPD-developed ECU, engine swap harness, and accelerator pedal. HPD pre-tunes the ECU with ease of installation in mind, with an eye toward reliability and enhanced performance for off-road and racing applications.
“We at HPD are proud to offer Honda power in an affordable and versatile package,” said John Whiteman, Manager, HPD Commercial Motorsports. “Our K20C1 engines have won many races in club and professional series and is now available for a wide range of applications. The new limited-edition crate engine package is part of HPD’s strategy to leverage our pinnacle expertise for the benefit of Honda fans of all ages and motorsports categories.”
There are a couple of caveats to this tasty package, of course. For starters, HPD is only going to sell 93 of them, and the engine isn’t road legal. However, it would make a seriously cool upgrade for any old car you’re looking to turn into a drag strip/autocross/track terror.
The Civic Type R crate engine will retail for $6,790, while the Controls package will set you back another $2,210. Of course, quite a few additional parts will be needed for the installation, but Honda says its instruction manual will provide guidance in setting up things like a fuel system, turbo plumbing, and exhaust, to name a few.
The limited-edition Controls Package and K20C1 combo will be available starting May 1, 2021, through HPD’s newly established official dealers. And in addition to purchasing the engine packages through those dealers, customers can also lean on them for expert technical advice, according to Honda. And that’s the kind of factory support that we can really get behind.
Photos: Honda
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