Is this 2012 Honda CR-V test mule packing a third row of seats?

While Honda may have to delay rolling out the successor to the current CR-V crossover, a shortage of parts resulting from the crisis in Japan doesn't mean it isn't still working on the project. And while we hadn't seen any prototypes running before, we've now received our first glimpse.

The test mule in this solitary spy shot is wearing a bra over the front end and some taping around the hind quarters, but is otherwise fairly naked for all to see. So what are we looking at? Heavily revised styling for a start, with tail-lights that extend up the D-pillar like the current model but with a rather Volvo-like shape to them. Our intrepid auto spies also suggest the extended rear end could be making room for a third row of seats (wonder what that D-pillar tape job is hiding?), but from where we sit, it looks mighty cramped.

Beyond the design, we can expect a slightly more powerful and more efficient version of the current model's 2.4-liter VTEC four. Expect production to begin in Ohio and Ontario before winter rolls back around.