In the midst of its 40th anniversary, Katech has taken what they learned from their 20-years of experience powering cars in Le Mans and NASCAR among others and providing vehicle components, crate engines, vehicle packages, and custom services for the street enthusiast.

In the middle of a one-year celebration of its 40th anniversary, new Katech President Steve Spurr said he is recalibrating the company. “We’ve come to understand that what we are really good at is development, and then following through with prototyping, testing, and manufacturing,” Spurr said. “We’ve been doing this for 40 years, but it’s been primarily reactive – meeting client needs.”

Most of what is offered has been tethered to its vault of knowledge in GM LS and LT engines.

Katech 427 LT1 for Grand Sport Corvette

“Our success in motorsports – and more recently in street products – has been driven by a commitment to performance, endurance, innovation, and reliability. These attributes are at the core of Katech. Our vision going forward is to take the blinders off where we’ve been, where maybe we’ve been too comfortable, and use these attributes to grow and grow aggressively.”

So what do the next 40 years look like? According to Katech, they are already developing new products that increase performance on the track and street without sacrificing durability. At the top of the list are high-horsepower street engines.

Katech Throttle Body designed to push the LT1 and LT4 engines beyond their factory performance levels

“Everyone is selling high horsepower numbers,” said Spurr. “It seems like you can’t log on to the internet without seeing what seems like outrageous claims. If those claims are true, it does you no good if your solution only lasts three miles.”

Recently, Katech worked with Xtreme-DI, to develop a system that adds a secondary, direct injection fuel pump to the original factory OEM fuel system with allows capable cars to make upwards of 2,000 horsepower. Other projects underway include a GM A8 Trans Pan made of billet to reduce transmission fluid temperature under extreme racing conditions, and a Gen5 Oil Pump that is anticipated to deliver 30-percent greater scavenge capacity and 20-percent greater pressure capacity.

Katech Billet Trans Pan

“Obviously, we are not totally abandoning our GM wheelhouse, but we are definitely going to move beyond it,” said Spurr. “We now build Ford engines for the track in IMSA’s TA and TA2 Series and recently inked a deal with ORECA to rebuild the Nissan VK50 for IMSA’s LMP3 Series.”

Beyond new platforms, Katech intends to explore non-traditional markets. Last year the company collaborated with Sixteen Power on a marine-specific V16 engine, which required testing standards and data acquisition only offered by Katech. The two companies will announce more details about the 1,100 horsepower engine later in 2018.

Katech 496 LSX engine installed by Gas Monkey Garage in Krew Kut dually truck

“It’s this type of diversity in development and manufacturing that will carry Katech into the future,” added Spurr. “While we have been known as a GM partner for much of our existence, what’s at our core applies to cars, trucks, buses, boats, etc. We know engines, and other markets are taking notice.”

For more information about Katech or products offered, view the Katech website.