Mugen, heater of Hondas, has announced it’ll debut its juiced CR-Z at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this July. As we reported in March, the speedier-than-that version of Honda’s sport hybrid is purely a one-off at this point. The performance comes courtesy of a reprogrammed Integrated Motor Assist and a good old-fashioned blower atop the 1.5-liter gasoline powerplant. According to Mugen Euro’s Colin Whittamore, “A supercharger and complementary electronics allow us to very neatly map the IMA to the extra power and torque of the engine in a unique package, giving a smooth, integrated and powerful driving experience.” Forget the PR fluff: in real numbers, Mugen’s claiming its car makes 197hp and 181 lb-ft of torque, compared to the production CR-Z’s 122-hp, 128-lb-ft rating.
In the Other Dynamics department, Mugen’s put the car on a diet and worked over the suspension, adding five-step adjustable shocks all around, and killed some unsprung weight via 17” wheels. Naturally, the brakes have also been upgraded to four-piston monoblock jobs. While a blown CR-Z may not be on the H’s production calendar, we imagine Honda will be looking at response to the car to see whether a little more zap might move a few more of the little coupes off the lots.
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