- Brace yourself, purists: this Lamborghini Super Trofeo EVO just had its heart ripped out for a Civic engine
- The swap was mostly made – by PSC Motorsport, in Thailand – to meet spec in an endurance race
- Improved reliability is just a secondary benefit, as are reported weight savings of around 150 kg
It isn’t totally unusual to find a Lamborghini-inspired kit car powered by a small four-cylinder engine. After all, if the owner is fine with simply owning a vehicle for the way it looks, there are worse options in the world than a four-banger fake Lambo. Not many, of course, but they do exist.
What is absolutely unusual is a group of gearheads ripping the sonorous factory V10 engine out of a genuine Huracan and slapping the mill from a Honda Civic in its place. On the surface, this task sounds not unlike a shady for-hire doctor putting a pig’s heart in a human on one of those gritty crime dramas, or a maniac replacing the growling powertrain in a classic muscle car with soulless EV guts. Wait—people already do the latter. Alas.
But the unholy combination of this Lambo-Civic is nothing so depraved. In fact, the builders have a very good reason for engaging in such heresy. PSC Motorsport, billed as Thailand’s leading Lamborghini racing specialists, are seeking to participate in that country’s biggest and longest race, called the 25 Hour Endurance.
A stock Honda K20C engine, sourced from a FK8-era Civic Type R, simply better fits regulations for the class PSC wants to compete in. That it is plunked into a Lamborghini Super Trofeo EVO seems to faze no one at the shop.
Testers took the creation for a run about three weeks ago, putting it though the paces in a shakedown test at the Buriram International Circuit, a 4.5-km ribbon of tarmac with 12 corners that plays home to racing series such as the GT World Challenge Asia and Grand Prix motorcycle racing. (It is also known as the Chang International Circuit, and is located in lower northeastern Thailand, if you’re curious.)
In what may be one of the more surprising things you’ll read today, this shop was able to use the stock Super Trofeo EVO gearbox instead of having to dip into an off-the-wall custom solution. Weight savings are estimated to be in the 150-kilogram range. Power could be in the 350-hp range. The crew also points out that, in addition to meeting spec for the race in which they wish to compete, this thing is more likely to endure 25 hours of racing than a V10 engine spun to dizzying heights.
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