I know more than a few folks who had just one question about the new 2017 Honda Civic Type R: “When can I get that engine?” For those of you with dreams of swapping this powerful turbo motor into something else, there’s finally good news. Sort of.
At SEMA in Las Vegas today, Honda announced that the new 2.0-liter i-VTEC four-cylinder motor—rated at 306 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque—can be purchased on its own, independent of the rest of the car.
You can take this engine and put it into your own car. How fun!
The engine, designated K20C1, is a turbocharged and intercooled beast that may be a far cry from the high-revving naturally aspirated VTEC motors of years past, but makes the new Civic Type R one of the quickest and baddest front-wheel drive cars on the planet.
The motor can be yours for a very reasonable $6,519.87, excluding shipping cost. You can apply to order it through the Honda Racing Line program.
But there’s the rub. For now it seems the Type R engine is only available in support of grassroots and professional racers who are members of that program. They’re not just selling it to everyone, so it seems it may be a while before it’s readily available to shove into your sweet tuned CRX or Integra or Del Sol.
I have a feeling this engine will find its way into the... let’s just say right hands eventually. Until then, there’s always totaled-out cars, but it’s a great deal if you want to go racing.