by: Leo Diaz

CR-Z, Honda’s Hybrid Race Car

The CR-Z is coming, and Honda’s premier r&d tuners Spoon & Mugen have already commenced building a cataloge of race engeniered parts.

MUGEN

According to Juston Karow of 7Tune, the Mugen parts will become available on various dates from April and will include front and rear half spoilers, front grille, side skirts, rear wing, hydrophilic side mirror replacements and two different alloy wheel designs for the exterior, while performance parts will include a stainless steel exhaust system, sports suspension kit, air cleaner and airbox and performance brake pads. Interior goodies include a dry carbon interior mirror cover, floor mats and a GFRP gauge mount for 3 gauges on the dashboard.

From April 26, the front and rear half spoilers and side skirts as a set will retail for 168,000 JPY (186,900 JPY painted). Individually the front half spoiler will sell for 51,450 JPY (57,750 JPY painted), the side skirts for 57,750 JPY (66,150 JPY painted) and the rear half spoiler for 58,800 JPY (63,000 JPY painted). A little earlier on April 15 a black sports grille will become available for 40,950 JPY with optional LED illumination for 36,750 JPY. A carbon number plate surround for 1,290 JPY will also be available at the same time. Also available from April 26 will be the multi-layered hydrophilic side mirrors which reduce the dazzling effect of sunshine and infrared rays. Both left and right mirrors are curved to offer a wide angle of view and can be simply installed over the existing mirrors. The mirrors will retail for 19,950 JPY.

Mugen NR and GP series wheels are available for the CR-Z and will come in different finishes. The NR series 10-spoke wheels are available in ‘Black Metal Coat’ (47,250 JPY per wheel), ‘Mirror Face’ (40,950 JPY per wheel) and silver (39,900 JPY per wheel) finishes and all are suitable for 205/45 R17 tires. The GP series 7-spoke wheels come in two finishes, bronze and gun metallic, both for 68,250 JPY per wheel. The GP series is Mugen’s flagship model and each wheel weighs at least 1kg less than the stock factory supplied alloys.

On the performance side, the stainless steel exhaust is designed to decrease the amount of bends in the pipe work to improve flow and features a ‘Delta Finisher’ exhaust tip (which looks like it would suit a Mazda RX-8 quite well) and will become available on April 26 for 134,400 JPY. The sports suspension kit will be available for both CVT and 6MT versions of the the CR-Z and feature adjustable height anywhere from -15mm to +20mm and have 5 step adjustable damping. Both CVT and 6MT kits will retail for 177,450 JPY and will be available from Arpil 26. The performance air cleaner and airbox boasts increased air flow over the stock intake and features a carbon cover. The Mugen airbox will become available from May 27 and retail for 94,500 JPY. The Type S (Type Sport) brake pads are suited to a wide range of driving conditions and have an operating temperature between 50 and 550 degrees. The Tpye S pads will sell for 23,100 JPY (front) and 19,950 JPY (rear) and are slated for a late July release.

The Mugen GFRP gauge mount includes three electronic gauges for water temp, oil temp and oil pressure which have peak recall and warning functions and are linked to a control unit. The gauge mount sits on top of the dashboard and does not obstruct the drivers view at all. The GFRP gage mount is available for 126,000 JPY. The carbon interior mirror cover simply fits over the existing mirror and sells for 11,550 JPY. Finally there are the Mugen floor mats which can be had as a set of two front mats only for 19,950 JPY or a set of four mats for front and rear for 4,150 JPY.

SPOON

Personally I neither like nor dislike the CR-Z’s edgy styling, but seeing what Spoon have been up to with Honda’s new baby has made me take another look and think again. A new set of alloys and a lowered ride height has done wonders (for me at least) and I can’t wait to see what it’ll look like with Spoon’s trademark carbon hood, front lip spoiler and blue and yellow warpaint. Maybe if Jon Sibal has some spare time he can help out there…?

Among the parts being tested are the coilovers, N1 exhaust, ECU, and ‘twin-block’ calliper and slit rotor brake upgrade. There’s no information on the ECU at this stage but the N1 exhaust has given the CR-Z a more sports car-like note in contrast to the near silent stock system, also a front coilover kit and rear spring/shock kit are being developed which have been lowered around 50mm and Spoon Sports is conducting ongoing tests with spring rates, shock stroke length and dampening characteristics. The front brake callipers use Spoon’s twin block units with 15 inch slit rotors which also being tested to lower the pedal effort to achieve sufficient braking power. A set of blue Spoon CR93 alloys finish off the car and compliment the new ride height well. One thing they didn’t mention was the Spoon Sports aero mirrors which going by the photos, it looks like Civic FN2 Type R units bolt straight on.