The world of engine swaps is a broad one, covering everything from swapping one inline four for another to stuffing a three-rotor Wankel into a DeLorean. We’re used to seeing LS after LS and K-swap after K-swap nowadays, but there’s something cooler lurking behind all those pages of YouTube results: Engines like this twin-turbo Hayabusa V8, which was built for open-wheel cars but should be put in every chassis imaginable.
Custom-built open-wheel cars aren’t normally my bag — I’m the modified Subaru and Honda girlie on staff, the scratchbuilt stuff has been more of a blind spot for me. Maybe that’s how I missed this billet block that mounts two Suzuki Hayabusa heads together on a single crankshaft, making one of the coolest engines I’ve ever seen.
While this V8 is clearly and openly based on Suzuki’s work, the folks over at JFC Racing have done some work to make it more car-ready. The engine can be had as a twin-turbo 2.8-liter or a naturally aspirated 3.0, but even the smaller displacement option is stroked beyond any factory Busa. The larger mill is bored as well, and both options get upgraded internals. That leaves the NA option capable of 460 horsepower and 280 ft-lbs of torque, while the turbo model makes 785 horsepower and 505 ft-lbs.
This is an absolutely tiny engine for that kind of power, and it’s a wonder it hasn’t moved on from purpose-built race machines like Radical, Wolf, and Lola. JFC claims an ND Miata kit is in the works, but the estimated delivery date for that is “2024″ — the clock is ticking to see one of these mills in a street legal production car. Even without official support, though, why aren’t we seeing these in NAs? EGs? MGs?
If you have a project car in need of an engine, put one of these JFC V8s in it. Then send me the video, because I’m desperate to see what this looks like under the hood of a Civic. Better yet, let me drive it.
