Honda Cars : Honda CR-Z Hybrid Race Car for Japanese GT300 Series | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

No, we haven’t gotten the resize of a photo wrong and squashed it by mistake, this is just the rendered image of a CR-Z hybrid race car destined to compete in the Japanese Super GT racing series, a sort of touring car championship. This is a very interesting series filled with much more varied sorts than we’ve gotten used to, from old models like the RX-7 to brand new cars, and even some oddities like the Prius.

According to Jon Sibal, the car you see here is developed with M-TEC Co., Ltd. and will be campaigned by Team Mugen. The bad news is that it won’t be ready until the forth race of the season, Sportsland SUGO.

Unfortunately, not much else is known about the car. The GT300 rules state you can’t clip the chassis, but realignments are legal in the case of front-wheel drive cars, which the CR-Z is.

By July 30th, when the car makes its racing debut, we’re sure we’ll get more details for you.

Source;
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/honda-cr-z-hybrid-race-car-for-japanese-gt300-series-42413.html

Honda Cars : Powered-up Honda CR-Z races into Le Mans ahead of 24-hour contest | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

The Honda CR-Z will join the Nissan Leaf and a few other alternative-powered cars in the Le Mans Vers Le Futur demonstration preceding Saturday's start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. The demonstration features the potential future of Le Mans, with less noise, less pollution and less cash spent.

The upgraded CR-Z gets a 200-hp version of the 1.5-liter engine, producing 175 lb-ft of torque. It keeps the six-speed manual transmission and the seven-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery of the stock car.

Honda unveiled the competition version of the CR-Z last year at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. Later, it was entered into the 25 Hours of Thunderhill race in San Francisco. The compact CR-Z finished second in its class.

In Europe, the car is used as a pace car for the Speed EuroSeries.

Honda says it developed the car to be tested in race conditions, in part to help solve problems that arise when running a hybrid race car. The CR-Z isn't certified by the FIA, so it will only appear in the prerace festivities.

Source;
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article#ixzz1OmlLtEp1

Honda Cars : SEMA 2010: Honda HPD CR-Z Racer Gets a Turbo and Push-to-Pass Hybrid Boost | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Technically the SEMA Show doesn’t start until tomorrow but thanks to our spies inside we have these snap shots of just what potential Honda's new CR-Z has. The Honda Performance Development CR-Z Racer looks like a true racing machine and likely is with a fully stripped-down body, a lowered suspension, functional aero and some big 17-inch wheels with meaty racing slicks.

But the truly exciting mods are found under the hood, where Honda strapped a Borg Warner turbo to the 1.5-liter 4-cylinder to pump out 175-hp and 155 ft-lbs of torque. But that’s not all, Honda also rejigged the Integrated Motor Assist hybrid setup to produce added power that’s available with a Indy Car styled push-to-pass button. When pressed, the CR-Z makes a total of 200-hp and 175 ft-lbs of torque.

Other mods include an LSD and some big brake upgrades.

Hopefully Honda is serious about taking this car racing and we’ll be at the press conference tomorrow to find out.

Source;
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2010/11/sema-2010-honda-hpd-cr-z-racer-gets-a-turbo-and-push-to-pass-hybrid-boost.html