Tokyo 2009: Honda CR-Z coming to America next fall with six-speed manual!
by Sam Abuelsamid on Oct 21st 2009 at 1:50AM 
Honda CR-Z concept 2009 - Click above for high-res image gallery
Honda fans of all sorts have cause to celebrate today with the reveal of the 2009 iteration of the CR-Z coupe. In typical Honda fashion, this CR-Z remains a concept in name and detail only. What you see here is essentially the production coupe that will go on sale in Japan next February and then arrive in North America in the Fall.
The cool scoop-like grille from the original 2007 concept has been largely carried over, with the biggest changes being a somewhat taller roof and a more upright windshield with blacked out A-pillars – concessions to the fact that real people will have to fit into the production car. On the exterior, the only elements likely to change once it hits the assembly line are the side mirrors, which will probably be a bit larger, along with the internals of the light clusters.
The good news for fans of the much-loved 1983-1991 Civic CR-X is that the CR-Z should have significantly better performance than the disappointing new Insight, a car that is geared more toward fuel economy than performance. In any case, the CR-Z coupe gets a bump in displacement up to 1.5-liter and – wait for it – a six-speed manual gearbox! This will be the first hybrid with a row-it-yourself six-speed.
Unfortunately, we probably won't hear any official numbers on the drivetrain's output or its mileage until closer to the Japanese launch, but color us excited – and you can share some of our joy by checking out the high-res image gallery below.
Gallery: Tokyo 2009: Honda CR-Z concept
Photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
RamblinReck89 1:52AM (10/21/2009)
Very nice!
Reply
RamblinReck89 2:37AM (10/21/2009)
No
xcrunk 10:27AM (10/21/2009)
Please, please, please Honda...
Give me 200HP and a limited slip....
That's all. I know, asking 200HP out of a 1.5ltr, is allot...hopefully the electric motor will put up some good torque numbers!
JSams4131 10:38AM (10/21/2009)
I'm guessing this is the guy who also made Ft-86.com, the genesis site...etc no?
daleam 12:22PM (10/21/2009)
Very ugly.
roadkillrob 12:37PM (10/21/2009)
Looks like a CRX crossed with an A3 front end!
Patrick 2:59PM (10/21/2009)
Nice compared to what? The front is a combination of an RX-8 and a Maserati Quattroporte but comes out to be much uglier, and the back is too hybrid-like.
RamblinReck89 3:10PM (10/21/2009)
It's a hybrid with a manual transmission. That's what's nice. It's Honda saying, "We're moving towards better fuel efficiency, but we aren't going to try and force you enthusiasts into something with a CVT." I appreciate that.
Mike 5:15PM (10/21/2009)
Ramblin..
I drive a hybrid.. I'm an enthusiast.. but I DON'T WANT A STICK SHIFT IN THE HYBRID!
I have a stick shift car for that.. my MR2 spyder with che bracing / Headers/HF Cat/Lightweight battery/exhaust.
When I drive the hybrid (long trips with a bunch of people/stuff in the car I want to relax and save money.
Who wants to shift a car 4 times to get to 40mph. or drop 3 gears to accelerate on the highway?
I'm thinking this car will be positioned slightly below the Insight.
Base price w/ 6speed - $17,500
CVT Option - $1200
Delivery - $750 (or whatever they charge nowadays)
It probably going to have about 10hp more than the insight weigh about 50-100lbs less.
*These are just my opinion.
It's goin to be SLOOOWW.
Now if they put a revised Accord Hybrid engine in there..that car got something like 30/37 (old EPA) so with lighter / more aerodynamic / 6 speed manual / retuned should be able to get like 35mpg combined.
Would have great performance..the old car had like 255hp and was faster than the 3.0liter 240hp accord.
This would definitely compete with the VW GTD and 2.0. Would have the performance of a R32 and gas mileage close to that of the diesel!
RamblinReck89 5:47PM (10/21/2009)
If you don't want it with a manual, then you don't have to buy it with the manual. I just like having options.
MyCRZ.com 6:48PM (10/21/2009)
We were able to interview the Designer interior and exterior. Unfortunately no interviews for the engineering side to get more specs. Should have the article up shortly on our site if your interested for more CRZ information.
For more up to date information. Check us out at
http://MyCRZ.com
Zakspeed 1:53AM (10/21/2009)
great news!
Reply
geo.stewart 9:10AM (10/21/2009)
it was until the hybrid powertrain and better performance than the Insight made it into the release.
this means the car will probably cost 25K base and run up to 30.
I was hoping for something more along the lines of the original where it would slot in with the Civic lineup.
Oh well. still interested, a performance hybrid will be a good thing in the grand scheme
Franz 1:58AM (10/21/2009)
Stick a newer version of the K series in it, make the chassis dynamics as good as the old DC5 (or we're lucky, the FD2) and I honestly don't see how it could go wrong.
Reply
Cameron 2:07AM (10/21/2009)
I suggested the same thing except add the IMA to the K and I got voted down like a rickroll. :-P
These Autoblog stacks are tricky business!
happyfun86 10:21AM (10/21/2009)
@Cameron:
It's probably because IMA isn't really that necessary if you're gonna go with a lightweight car with a K-series. I can consistently average 33 mpg in my '06 Civic Si, so imagine putting the K20 in a car that's ~400 pounds lighter, and you would have a vehicle that gets great fuel economy without much in the way of engine development. And less time and money spent on fitting IMA to a K-series means it'll cost less.
naggs 4:34PM (10/21/2009)
k series is complete overkill for the fit chassis
the single cam 1.8 would save weight on the front end and give plenty of power for 15" tires
Flavie 6:37PM (10/21/2009)
center tachometer, love it! i think this is an excellent concept! if they can deliver a driver oriented car, in a more efficient package, and competitive pricing, i'm all for it
Xa 2:02AM (10/21/2009)
fish face. this thing could look SO good if that grille was changed.
Reply
fmwso 2:22AM (10/21/2009)
True. This grille is one of the ugliest that I've seen. But then, considering that Honda's current cars are weird looking, I'm not surprised at all.