I guess you are asking for Engine Control Unit.
You can refer to xilinx. They have nice dedicated low power automotive series ECU boards supporting many useful IPs such as CAN.
I'm not sure about the usual terms, but in my understanding ECU would designate the engine or drive related part of vehicle control, e. g. fuel, ignition, motor diagnostic. I would exepect any VHDL code or firmware in this field as strictly manufacturer confidential.