Instagrammer’s LS4 Powered Civic Type R Is the Honda of Our Dreams
LS4 doesn’t offer any more power than the stock four-banger, we can only imagine the sound it produces is worth the effort of the swap.
Finding a chassis that hasn’t seen an LS swap at least once is virtually impossible. Ironically, the virtual world fills the gaps of the few chassis that haven’t. Take, for example, this FK8 Honda Civic Type R. While this LS4-swapped Type R lives only in these renderings, the convincing presentation makes us wonder how long it will be before this fiction becomes a reality.
Thanks to extremely talented digital artist Abimelec Arellano, we are now facing the woeful temptation to start calling speed shops and figuring out how much they’d charge to make something like this become a reality. While most LS swaps come in a front-engine rear-wheel-drive format, there is an option for the front-wheel-drive crowd. The LS4 comes in such gems as the Monte Carlo SS, Malibu SS, Pontiac Grand Prix GXP, and the ic0nic undercover LS car, the Buick Lacrosse Super. All of which are front-wheel-drive chassis. In fact, front-wheel drive LS4 Hondas already exist. This is just a height of which the LS Honda world has yet to see. In reality, at least.
Power Is in The Hands of Technology
Perhaps the most unsettling part of this fantasy mobile is that the eight-cylinder heart doesn’t offer a power advantage. It offers three horsepower less, believe it or not. The stock Honda K20C1 offers a whopping 306 horsepower, while the LS4 makes 303 in stock format. That being said, the low-end torque of the LS4 could be extremely advantageous in certain scenarios. Realistically, the kind of person who would fund an adventure like this would likely not have much of a reason for the swap other than something along the lines of: “who else has done it?” Which is plenty of reason for us to back it!
A fantastic touch is the SS badge on the front. Though “Civic Type R SS” runs a little long, it has a certain ring to it that we’re quite fond of. We would love to see this thing come to life just for the conversations it would start anywhere it goes. Whether people hate it or love it, you would undoubtedly hear some pretty passionate opinions cruising around in this beast.
Future Reality or Wishful Thinking?
Arellano’s Instagram account is full of proof that anything can become a reality through the power of rendering. There is certainly no shortage of cars featuring LS power on his page, so you should definitely go check it out. The amount of effort that goes into these image sets is insane.
As for the LS4 FK8 Civic Type R, it’s likely something we’ll have to wait a number of years for. Type Rs are regularly selling for over their MSRP and seem to really be retaining their value. Who knows, though, maybe someone will plant one into a wall at the track, and someone crazy enough to make this a reality will pick it up from the insurance auctions and make this wonderful fantasy a reality.
Photos: Instagram/Abimelecdesign
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