Honda's 600 Horsepower Civic Type R Engine Is Here To Save Racing

Honda Racing Corporation has unveiled the HRC-K20C, a high-performance engine based on the Civic Type R’s 2.0L K20C turbo 4-cylinder.

The HRC-K20C is a motorsport specific powerplant built from most of the same components used in the 2024 Civic Type-R's road-going K20C1. The program was developed with four distinct specifications available—ranging from the 300 horsepower Spec A, through to the 600 horsepower Spec D—catering to different needs and levels of motorsport.

Spec B of the HRC-K20C makes over 360 horsepower and has been running around powering the Acura Integra Type S DE5 in the TCX class of TC America. The Spec B engine is mostly the same as the mass-produced K20C, it's manufactured alongside the road-going engines at Honda's Anna Engine Plant in Ohio. Key upgrades do include strengthened pistons, connecting rods, oil jets, high-strength bolts, and oil baffles in the pan.

HRC made no mention of Spec C in the announcement.

Versions of the production K20C1 are also used in the Civic Type R TCR race cars used in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, along with F4 U.S. Championship and FR Americas Championship cars. Those cars are not built in-house by HRC and were developed prior to the HRC-K20 program. Although Honda does provide engines direct to the F4.

The Spec D engine was created for Formula cars and it includes a bespoke cylinder head and a strengthened block. For those of you who have never put a Formula car together, the engine is a stressed member of the chassis and mounts directly to the back of the carbon tub via a pair of mounts cast directly into the cylinder head and another pair cast into the cylinder block or as part of the dry sump oil pan.

Honda said the Spec D engine still "utilizes mass-produced engine parts" to keep costs in check, but stopped short of detailing the engine's actual componentry. Like the Spec B engine, most of Spec D's rotating assembly was replaced, but it sounds like the Type R's crank remains. Everything that bolts onto the engine is motorsport-specific, including the exhaust manifold and turbocharger.

The origins of the HRC-K20C project stem from a growing demand for used racing cars, fuelled partly by older race cars going out of service due to a lack of available engines or parts. HRC envisions a versatile, cost-effective racing engine based on the K20C as the perfect solution for older tin-top touring cars and various styles of Formula cars. Honda's trying to crate a sustainable future for racing.

Retail plans for the K20C weren't revealed, and it's currently unclear if HRC plans to sell the engines through its newly established parts and accessories program announced during SEMA 2024.

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