Two Builders Put Civic Type R Engine in Prelude

Hasport and Throtl each installed a 315-horsepower Civic Type R engine into the Honda Prelude at the 2026 SEMA Show.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Performance Vehicles

Two Builders Put Civic Type R Engine in Prelude

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Two separate builders unveiled Honda Prelude builds fitted with the 315-horsepower Civic Type R engine at the 2026 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Honda Racing Corporation also displayed Hasport's time-attack Prelude in its own booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Why it matters

The production Prelude uses a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated inline-four paired with a two-motor hybrid system producing a combined 200 horsepower, so the swap represents a significant output increase. The builds show how aftermarket work can transplant a performance powertrain into a model not originally sold with one.

The Civic Type R's turbocharged 2.0-liter K20C1 engine is rated at 315 horsepower in stock form, compared with a combined 200 horsepower from the stock hybrid Prelude. The source does not indicate whether either build has been tested on the road or on a dynamometer.

The players

Hasport

Hasport is a performance parts and tuning company whose time-attack Prelude used the Civic Type R powertrain with suspension tuning drawn from the Acura Integra Type S TCX race car.

Throtl

Throtl is a custom automotive builder whose Prelude carried Civic Type R bumpers, a Seibon carbon-fiber hood, and a Type R-derived interior.

Honda Racing Corporation

Honda Racing Corporation is the motorsports division of Honda that operates its racing programs and development efforts worldwide.

The details

Throtl's Prelude carries the Civic Type R's front and rear bumpers, reshaped to fit the Prelude, along with a Seibon carbon-fiber hood incorporating the Type R's scoop and the Type R's triple-exit exhaust and rear wing. Hasport's Club Racer pairs the Type R powertrain with suspension tuning from the Acura Integra Type S TCX race car and a custom Borla exhaust.

• November 4, 2026: Both Prelude builds were displayed at the 2026 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
• Through November 6, 2026: The SEMA Show runs at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Roadmap

The Prelude swaps extend a pattern in which enthusiasts and builders take the turbocharged K20C1 from the Civic Type R and install it into other Honda models. The projects show how a single Honda performance engine can migrate across chassis that the factory never paired with it.

Owners interested in a similar swap would need to account for the bumper reshaping and intercooler fitment that the Throtl build required. The source does not indicate whether either conversion is available as a kit or what it would cost.

The takeaway

Transplanting a performance engine into a different chassis requires solving fitment problems such as intercooler clearance, which these builders addressed with bumper and body modifications. The projects show the practical scope of such swaps for enthusiasts planning similar work.