Honda’s sport hybrid coupe introduced in 2010 was the Honda CR-Z. Its name is commonly expanded as “Compact Renaissance Zero,” reflecting Honda’s attempt to combine compact-car efficiency with a sportier driving character.
The CR-Z was a three-door liftback with a gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain. It used Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist system, pairing a 1.5-litre four-cylinder gasoline engine with an electric motor. Unlike most hybrids of its era, it was available with a six-speed manual transmission, as well as a continuously variable transmission.
Honda presented the CR-Z as a spiritual successor to the CR-X, a lightweight two-seat sport compact sold in the 1980s and 1990s. The new car’s 2+2 layout was marketed as practical, although North American versions were configured as two-seaters.
Sales began in Japan in 2010, followed by the United States later that year. Production continued through 2016. Although distinctive and technically unusual, the CR-Z never achieved the sales volume Honda had hoped for, and the company did not produce a direct second-generation replacement.