Oops. Someone at Honda has some s'plainin to do. The official Japanese brochure of their upcoming and highly anticipated CR-Z hybrid sports coupe is leaking all over the Internet, and now everyone knows a lot more about the car than Honda might like before its official debut.
And who wouldn't take a peek? We're as interested in anyone in CR-Z, a gas-electric spiritual successor to the CR-X. We were quite intrigued when Honda said it was bringing latest CR-Z concept to the Tokyo auto show. When Honda promised it would push hybrids into sporting territory, we liked it even more.
So just what's in the brochure?
Credit for snagging the brochure goes to the fine folks at Temple of VTEC, who give the mysteriously acquired document a "Credibility Rating: Not Specified." Still, a lively discussion has ensued over the specs pulled from the purloined propaganda.
The CR-Z is relatively small, 160 inches long by 68 inches wide and 55 inches tall. The wheelbase comes in at 96 inches, so this all points to something that should be a good handler. Sadly, the 0-100km/hr times come in at only 9.7 sec, so anyone in a Mazda Miata will eat the CR-Z's lunch. But it follows when you consider the weight of a hybrid system and the power specs.
The internal combustion engine is a 1.5-liter i-VTEC putting out 114 horsepower at 6,000 RPM. It's got 107 pound-feet of torque at 4,800 RPM. The electric motor offers 14 horsepower at 1,500 RPM and 57 lb-ft of grunt at 1,000 RPM. The combined figures work out to 128 ponies and 164 lb-ft. That power and torque will get to the pavement via your choice of a 6-speed manual or a continuously variable transmission.
There also is a lot of LED lighting profligately used on the CR-Z. In addition to the typical wing mirror lights being LEDs, it looks like the CR-Z will feature LED running lamps in the headlight cluster as well.
Car & Driver offered a blunt assessment based on the specs so far: "It's going to be slow." But C&D, like us, hold out hope that Honda's performance figures are on the conservative side when it says "scorching, sub-9.0-second 0-to-60 times and some sporting character may not be too much of a stretch."
We'll have to wait until Honda's official unveiling of the CR-Z at the Detroit auto show in January to get the official word.
*Photo: Honda. Temple of VTEC has photos of the brochure, but they're clearly copyrighted and there's no way we're gonna risk the wrath of Honda's lawyers by publishing them here. Check 'em out over at the Temple.
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