Honda CR-Z to Debut at Auto Show

Honda intends on making a debut at the Tokyo Auto Show with its newest alternative fuel model, the Honda CR-Z. CR-Z is short for “Compact Renaissance Zero.” This statement represents the company’s desire to create a new and more welcoming era for compact and highly efficient cars. Making the move to smaller, more compact and lightweight vehicles would be the fastest way to reduce the negative impact on the environment from cars. But will it work?

For over two years the Honda CR-Z has hidden in the shadows, appearing as a concept at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It showed up appearing to be the world’s first hybrid sports car and was made with advanced interior design, hybrid power, futuristic styling all fit together into a compact, lightweight package. But the CR-Z is hiding no more. The Honda hybrid is scheduled to go into production and on sale sometime in the year 2010. The car will debut at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show.

The two door, eco-friendly coupe, which somewhat resembles the older Honda CRX hatchback, is powered by a 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine mated to Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist hybrid technology, similar to the setup  used to power the Honda Insight, though the Insight is powered by a 1.3-liter engine. The Insight is powered by a CVT transmission while the CR-Z will come equipped with a six-speed manual transmission – an option not offered for hybrid vehicles until now. The drive train of the CR-Z will be based on the Insight also. Most technical details will be left out until the debut of the car at the end of October, 2009.

Interior design in the Honda CR-Z is sporty, hi-tech and very futuristic looking. The inside of the car is designed to seem open and spacious, which is accomplished by the simple, necessary frame work covered by a mesh material. This leaves the inside with a nice airy feel to it. The rear hatch of the CR-Z is see-through, black colored glass which aids in visibility and works much like the rear hatch glass of the older Honda CRX.

Numbers are speculated to come in at around the high 30 mpg mark with the cost of the car being around the $20,000 mark.

The Honda CR-Z is expected to go on sale to the public sometime early next year. Honda has also mentioned selling hybrid versions of the next generation Honda Civic and the Honda Fit, but did not confirm a date for these vehicles to be sent to North America.

Select photos via Honda Motor Company