Honda Picks Turbo Over Hybrid For 2018 CR-Z Coupe

by Sarah Shelton of www.hybridcars.com

While more and more automakers are expanding their hybrid platforms, Honda is going against the grain by taking a hybrid model and transforming it to a gasoline-only car.

Honda has announced that the next generation CR-Z will be running a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Experts are expecting that Honda will use the same 2.0-liter, 280 horsepower VTEC that currently powers the Civic Type-R.

The car will most likely debut in 2017 as a model for the following year.

This will be the first time the CR-Z has been a gas-only car – ever since its debut in 2010, the CR-Z has featured a hybrid platform. The 2015 model (pictured above) is running a 1.5-liter gas engine and electric motor with a combined output of 130 horsepower.

Critics have complained that this powertrain is too weak for a sporty compact. And the coupe’s average 31 mpg is not enough of a fuel savings to justify the car’s watered-down performance.

Sales have been as lackluster as the car: Honda posted less than 3,600 sales in the U.S. last year for the CR-Z.

But Honda is betting that a turbocharged inline-four can get the CR-Z back on the right track.

“The two reasons that forced Honda to phase it out [in Europe and Australia], namely its weak street cred and lack of performance thanks to its ho-hum hybrid power unit, have been addressed.

“The new coupe will be a force to reckon with,” a Honda source told Car and Driver.

While the original CR-Z was based off the Fit, the 2018 CR-Z will be borrowing the platform from the Civic and design elements from the Civic Type-R and the Acura NSX.

When building the next generation of hybrids, carmakers frequently tweak their powertrains for extra power and efficiency. So it’s a bit unusual that, instead of looking for ways to boost its CR-Z hybrid setup, Honda is opting to replace it.

Honda’s recent activities on the racetrack add to the peculiarity of this decision. This year, Honda has returned to Formula One racing with a very high-tech hybrid setup capable of 200+ mph. This power unit – which includes systems to recapture energy from heat and brakes – gives Honda the opportunity to prove the potency of its hybrid technology.

Hopefully, Honda will learn new tricks on the track with this hybrid powertrain to boost the performance of its hybrid streetcars.

Source;
http://www.hybridcars.com/honda-picks-turbo-over-hybrid-for-2018-cr-z-coupe/

Car and Driver Magazine: Next Generation Honda CR-Z: 2018 Honda CR-Z: It Might Finally Be What We Wanted All Along

I said from day one that making the CR-Z a Hybrid was a mistake. Now can we please have a proper CR-X replacement? (--and how's that new Prelude coming?!?)

The two-seater trades weak hybrid power for a potent turbo.

by Peter Lyon of www.caranddriver.com

As of this writing, Honda is rapidly approaching its Formula 1 comeback as the power behind McLaren at the Australian Grand Prix, and the brand is also busy readying two of Japan’s most anticipated sports cars, the new NSX and the 2016 Civic Type R. Now comes news from inside Honda's R&D center in Tochigi that the unloved CR-Z hybrid sports coupe will get a new lease on life in the form of an all-new, more performance-oriented model in three years. 

Honda’s American arm has been pleading for a gutsy, attractive, and reasonably priced coupe to bolster its brand image, and a source with close ties to the Japanese mothership says the next CR-Z will be the answer. "Remember the CR-Z? It’s due to make a big comeback in 2017," we’re told. 

"The two reasons that forced Honda to phase it out [in Europe and Australia], namely its weak street cred and lack of performance thanks to its ho-hum hybrid power unit, have been addressed. The new coupe will be a force to reckon with," insists our source. 

The original model was based on a modified version of the Fit platform, but unlike the Fit, with its centrally located fuel tank, the CR-Z’s tank was repositioned at the rear. To keep costs down, the new CR-Z's platform will be borrowed from the next-generation Civic, but with four inches chopped from the wheelbase. 

Expected to be marginally bigger than the current CR-Z, the new model will borrow design cues from the new NSX and the Civic Type R. Under the hood will be a detuned version of the Type R's turbocharged, 2.0-liter VTEC four-cylinder pumping out more than 280 horsepower. In fact, it looks as if the CR-Z will be positioned and marketed as a high-performance coupe version of the next-generation U.S. Civic, which means it may be called the Civic CR-Z. 

While the U.S. version will be fitted with the 2.0-liter engine, Honda is planning to revisit the hybrid for the Japanese domestic market; that edition will employ a turbocharged 1.5-liter hybrid i-DCD powertrain generating upwards of 200 horsepower and incorporating an eight-speed automatic transmission. 

While it’s still some way out, we understand a CR-Z prototype or concept car may surface at the 2017 Detroit show in advance of an on-sale date sometime in early 2018.

Source;
http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2018-honda-cr-z-rendered-may-ditch-hybrid-for-new-turbo-news