Let’s be honest, the factory Honda CR-Z doesn’t have much of a ‘wow’ factor. It’s a bit on the boring side, and I’d much rather be driving the new Hyundai Veloster, which has more power and is also more fuel efficient. But the CR-Z is about to get a little face lift thanks to Mugen’s European arm.
Honda has confirmed that a modified version of the CR-Z (known as the CR-Z iCF) will go on sale in Britain in the spring of 2012. The modifications done to the 1.5-liter hybrid engine by Mugen include the addition of a supercharger, upgraded inter-cooler, and an ECU tune. Not bad, right?
The Honda CR-Z iCF By Mugen
Okay, so we don’t have a lot of photos at the moment, but here is what we know so far…
With these upgrades, the horsepower for CR-Z iCF jumps from 124PS (122HP) to 175PS (173HP) and is now capable of completing the 0-100km/h (62mph) in 6.1 seconds. The stock CR-Z is able to accomplish this in 9.1 seconds. Mugen also plans on stiffening up the chassis of the CR-Z along with exterior and interior changes. Even with the new found power, Honda claims that the iCF will still manage to have best fuel economy possible with the three different drive-modes available on the car.
North Americans should not be surprised to hear that Honda has no plans on bringing the CR-Z iCF to our shores. Hell, not even Honda City in India carries it, and just think of how many people there are there. No, unfortunately we don’t exactly know where to pick one up, nor how much it will cost, however, Honda estimates that the pricing should start around $37,000 USD.
We’ll update this post with more details as we get closer to the CR-Z iCF launch date.
