This week, Honda officially confirmed that the CR-Z is dead.
Launched back in 2010, many of us hoped that the CR-Z would be a worthy successor to the CR-X of the ’80s and early ’90s, but the model never quite lived up to that ideal.
There are a number of reasons why the CR-Z never really caught on, but the biggest was its power train. Offered only as a hybrid, the CR-Z was a compromise from the beginning; it had neither the power of a sports car or the stellar fuel economy of its more conventional hybrid competition. Instead, it occupied a strange place somewhere in the middle.
Tuners including Hondas’s own Mugen did their best with the CR-Z, developing forced induction kits and other bits to improve the car’s performance; but it wasn’t quite enough to win over those longing for a reborn CR-X Si or SiR.
It’s a shame too, because chassis and styling-wise the CR-Z had a lot of what you’d expect from a modern CR-X. It seemed like a such a logical step for Honda to drop one of its high-winding K-series engines into the CR-Z to make it a front-drive alternative to the Toyota 86 or Subaru BRZ; but it never happened.
So now all we can do is sit and wonder what might have been…
If there’s a silver-lining though, it’s that in a few years used CR-Zs should be cheap enough to become great project car candidates for those looking to build a modern CR-X of their own.
Mike Garrett
Instagram: japanifornia
mike@speedhunters.com
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IF honda had ditched the hybrid powertrain and gone for pure gas, this could have been a worthy car to drive. but no, the hybrid system sucked the soul out of this car. honda messed up the formula here, and it became a flop for enthusiasts. maybe honda should reintroduce this car later, but with improvements such as no hybrid system and it might interest a few who longed for a true cr-x successor.
shame, oh what could have been. but it makes sense i don't think there's room for 2 plucky hondas the crz had to have been a hybrid or it would have been too much like a civic and get ridiculed for being 'just' a restyled civic.
i had the idea of dropping the turbo engine from the first-gen Acura RDX into a CR-Z, making it 4WD and having a crazy pocket rocket. Tsk tsk.
That's a real shame. What a terrible move to make. If only they would of stuck the turbo on it we all wanted...
Type R CRZ. Mmmmmmmmm turbo-IMA hybrid.
Imagine the boost! With added boost! (OK the IMA wasnt so great at power but still, that's some knight rider sh!t right there).
the CRZ can look really awesome with a few well chosen parts. I was hoping for a face lift or a full refresh this year for the CRZ, this news is quite worrying. I know it never caught on but it was their last two door model aside from the NSX in the UK I believe. Haven't seen a two door brand new Jazz in ages... No two door accord, the two SUVs are four door.... No two door civics. Full stop in the range... Insight? Nah.
I really hope the NSX meets all the hype, or they can get a F1 car round a track without popping something cos right now the future isn't looking so bright for my favourite marque.... Or for two doors that cost less then a house.
Just like Subaru refusing to turbocharge the BZR, Honda ignored the enthusiast to their detriment. One of the weak points of Japanese corporate culture?
Kinda makes me want to CR-Y
baddam tsssss
TarmacTerrorist there is an Accord Coupe and a Civic Coupe...
Kind of a meh of a car, but the WB on that first image tho.
@Nate Lmao, brilliant
awesomefearwave Power is nothing without control as they say, so imho it's biggest flaw wasn't the power, or lack of it, but the dinosaur-age suspension design that Honda keeps using nowadays for some reason...gone are the days of double-wishbones on pretty much all their cars (at least in the US), now it's only available on their RLX and NSX models, and that's it. Power can always be improved, but the suspension design on the other hand, unless you're building a racecar (and we wouldn't have this discussion if that was the case), is almost impossible to change, at least for an average Joe.
apex_DNA awesomefearwave We can kind of guess why the fabulous double-wishbones were gone. These days with crash regulation and fuel economy/pollution requirement are forcing body of current cars to be stronger and stronger(hence heavier), Once quest for lightweight and cost is factored in, the only place to really cut corner are the double-wishbone suspensions(with their fancy arms and lovely chassis pickup points we enthusiast love). especially on smaller cars.
All aboard to feel train!
awesomefearwave Totally agree with you, and I think back in 2011 Honda could've kept the Hybrid as a "halo car" of the range if they want to, just add a couple of Non-Hybrid variant for everybody, I couldn't dream of having a K20 in a CRZ Si, but even the simple R-series single cam with 6MT would have been much more welcomed.
Should have dropped the k20 in it from the factory.
Ryan King and that would've been it from there
no k20 = WHY GOD
Like I said, not in the UK....
I agree but It's more down to allowing the marketing department to decide on choices, rather then actually listening - or better yet - the marketing department doing some research rather then "Old people love fit/jazz and joo Shud too" attitude the marketing department have seemed to have outside the JDM.
Luckily, the current head Honda honcho has said they are returning to an engineer lead design basis and reducing their marketing departments power and status... Hopefully we will get some new cars we all actually want soon!
TarmacTerrorist i actually see the power of the market department decreasing. i mean, we're getting the type r for the first freaking time ever in america (!!!) and hopefully we can see an s2000 successor. i miss the times when honda went crazy, especially with their 4 cylinder engines, like the s2000, which had the highest hp from a naturally aspirated 4 cylinder. i miss those good ol' times.
Ugly, slow... no wonder it didnt live up to the hype
hmm i wonder if anybody has even swapped a k20 into one of these.....
Yeah I fluffed my typing, busy fitting a stereo..
I agree, it's good to see it decreasing. And it's awesome you are getting the Type-R - Can we in the UK have a bloody coupe model please??
Or a two door... Something. Anything. Whatever Honda can't sell. Anything.
awesomefearwave Lots of people have, K24's as well.
Nah you guys are all talk without walking the walk. I'm looking into buying a k24 crz from LHT performance, and while I know it's not cheap, you can do it with a used crz quite cheap. Honestly 75 percent of the people on this site can't afford jack shit and just talk big. Though one thing I admit is they should of advertised the supercharger way more, still though.
Will the same be said for the new NSX in a few years.......
The CRZ was actually designed for a K20 option from the get-go. It was crash regulations that killed that trim level, because the intake manifold was too close to the core support. But the chassis had already been designed around K20 installation as the car was going into production, which is why the swap is so easy in these things. There was a nice article on the car and this part of its history in Super Street's latest Honda Issue.
Not with 573hp, it won't be.
I wont miss it, didn't capture my interest at all. Whilst I respect the fact that is may as well be a follow up to the CRX (z comes after x) If I wanted a small punchy car at that price point I'd buy an mx5. People who want fast generally don't care too much about being green.
For those who know, this should've been powered by a Honda goldwing motor, as Ricky Hsu penned it back at Art Center. Marketing executives are all spawns of Satan, and ruined this car just like they ruin all cars. If Carlos Ghosn took over Honda, every single marketer at Honda would be fired.
Honda is only changing their tune, because their core fanbase disappeared. Their marketing department is still in charge, and they are all complete jackasses.
The original concept for this car was drawn by Ricky Hsu at Art Center, built as a rolling prototype by Honda a LONG time ago, and was supposed to use a Goldwing motor with an electric reverse. Honda missed the mark with their terrible Insight, and again with the CR-Z. Now the civic looks like an enormous accord... RIP Honda.
No more CRX, No more CRZ, No one willing to CRY
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CyborgGT Ya but it's still not a worthy successor... Its AWD, 150k, heavy AF, and understeers like crazy.
godhax1 It's 18k you act like you just bought a McLaren...
rip honda. you had one job.....
basicly none even knew that such crz have ever been launched, how can someonemiss something that they never knew of...
Why not instead of killing it, Honda release a facelift version but now with the new 1.5 litre turbo engine taken from the 10th gen Civic.
Lmaoo!!
So you give cars credibility if they have a shit load of powweerrr??? Thatttsss kiinnda simple minded.. Theres many factors in the equation to make a good car. And the current nsx is a total let down....
Matt_Redondo DO IT
Bu-hu,Im not even sad. I am sad tought how Honda is doing crapy cars.
Even new Nsx....well its not Nsx to me, car does not have that aura,nor the lines,nor the engine...and its hybrid,yea I know,21.st century,and I am 24 year old dinosaur.
They could made from RCZ new CRX, but it shuld be light,and have more sexy look.
You know,I still play Gran turismo 4 sometimes.
When I get in Hona dealership I wanna cry.
Civic typeR EP,S200,Integra typeR,Nsx.....They were so sexy looking,fast,light,excelent to drive...and that was just what...10-11 years ago.
bakayaru And Honda would be making Crossovers until the end of time.
ya they botched it big time. i cant believe how far from intouch they are with their customers. a crz si would have sold like crazy. non hybrid k20/k24
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The hybrid shit killed it...Sad.