If you are a Honda fan you’ll surely fondly remember and envy(if you dn’t possess it) a Honda CR-X. The beast of a car combined fuel economy with unprecedented sportiness. The Japanese giant is ot again with a hybrid version of the same platform that could be a modern avatar of CR-X. The new model is aptly named CR-Z.
Honda unleashed CR-Z at the North American International Auto Show. THe displayed version is a production version and not just a concept model. Similar to Civic and Insight hybrid it has a gas-electric hybrid system. The promises to jazz things up in the hybrid segment when the model appears in showrooms later this summer.
“You don’t think ’sporty’ and ‘hybrid,’” said John Mendel, executive v.p. of sales for American Honda. “This car challenges that convention.”.
The Honda CR-Z will be manufactured in Japan. It’ll integrate a 1.5 litre I-VTEC engine with a 10 KW (13.4 horsepower) motor in Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system. Thid deadly combo packs a punch and will provide a 122 horsepower and 128 pound-feet torque. Comparing to first-gen CR-X that topped out at 76 horsepower, these are huge numbers for a hybrid.