A major talking point of December’s annual Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show in Indianapolis, Indiana was a brand-new racing engine from Katech Engineering. In the past, on behalf of GM, Katech developed the engine of the Corvette that contested the Daytona and Le Mans 24 Hours, and other major GT events, although the last iteration was taken in-house.
Katech developed the LS-7R GT race engine through to direct injection guise in 2009, and since then it has done a lot of its own work on LT engines. That family superseded the LS as GM’s Small Block production engine from 2012. These engines retain the original 1954 Small Block’s bore spacing of 4.4 in and the concept of pushrod operation from a single camshaft.
Using the LT Small Block as its reference, Katech has produced a naturally aspirated pushrod I4, machined from a billet. Given the bore spacing of 4.4 in, a bore of 4.125 in (105 mm) and a stroke of 3.085 in (78 mm) provide a displacement of 165 ci (2.7 litres). The cylinder-head design follows LT architecture, with Katech having developed some very high-performance versions of the LT head over the years.
The aluminium engine has water-jacket provision and an inherent 45o lean to put weight to the left side for circle-track racing. The engine weighs 168 lb. It has a custom billet crankshaft, a solid roller-bearing camshaft and a bespoke oil pan. The initial specification includes CP-Carrillo pistons and rods, Jesel lifters and T&D rockers operating titanium valves closed by PAC coil springs.
In its initial guise, the engine is mechanically port-injected using a Kinsler system, but the LT head was designed for direct injection so that is a future possibility. Indeed, the block design allows for single or dual high-pressure pumps to be run off the camshaft.
The engine is seen as having potential in a number of competition arenas, including Autocross, Time Attack and track day use. Katech is also targeting Midget racing, and initial dyno tests reveal that on methanol it will provide an output that will make it competitive in the likes of USAC, Xtreme Outlaw and POWRi competitions.