As we rightfully suspected when Honda revealed the Mugen CR-Z RR Study at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2011 earlier in the summer, the Japanese carmaker confirmed a production version of its hotted-up hybrid sport hatch that will go on sale in Britain next spring.
And for those of you wondering, unfortunately, Honda has no plans to offer the car in other markets – at least for the time being. The production model is named CR-Z iCF and it has been developed in partnership with Mugen's European arm. At the heart of the car lies a modified version of the CR-Z's 1.5-liter hybrid powertrain that gains a supercharger, a new induction system and a reprogrammed ECU.
As a result of these upgrades, the CR-Z iCF has almost 50 per cent more power than the standard car at 175PS (equal to 173HP and 177bhp) and can sprint from zero to 62mph (100km/h) in just 6.1 seconds or 3 seconds quicker than the regular 124PS CR-Z.
In addition to the power boost, Mugen will also retune the chassis and modify the appearance of the CR-Z inside and out.
Martin Moll, Head of Honda UK's marketing division commented: "MUGEN Euro magic has created a super responsive yet eco-conscious model building on our sporting credentials and giving us the ability to compete in the "hot hatch" marketplace as we move into 2012."
Honda said that it is still working on the pricing but it expects the CR-Z iCF to start from around £24,000 (approx. US$37,300 or €27,990). More details are to be released closer to the launch date.
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