Every once in a while, carmakers bless us with crazy, over-the-top vehicles just to prove they can do it. This time, it is Honda’s turn to impress, and it chose to do so by turning the rather pedestrian CR-V into a track monster designated the CR-V Hybrid Racer project vehicle.
As wild as that sounds, Honda is no stranger to performance vehicles and engines. The company has a racing pedigree and has even helped Red Bull clutch a couple of Formula 1 titles in the past two seasons.
There’s also a specific street racing culture around Hondas, with modified Civics, Accords, and whatnot becoming one of the most widespread internet memes in the car community. We’re all used to seeing Honda K-24 engines pushing out massive power and hearing the famous “V-Tec kicked in” being called out, either jokingly or with pride.
It seems that the automaker has chosen to embrace that fan-built legacy. It has given the creative engineers at Honda Performance Development (HPD) and Auto Development Center (ADC) free reign to design an outrageous vehicle.
What got announced recently and will be revealed on February 28, 2023, puts Bisimoto’s famous thousand horses Odyssey to shame. The compact crossover SUV described by Honda as a Comfortable Runabout Vehicle (CR-V) will shed its subdued personality to become a track monster.
Honda Performance Development has taken the knowledge gained from taking part in INDYCAR and IMSA Sports Cars and applied it to the modest family car. The result is a CR-V that looks like it went on a crash diet while spending every day at the gym.
In the few pictures that Honda released to tease us, we can spot lots of carbon fiber, muscular haunches, and an aero package so aggressive that it makes me drool. The fenders flares are large enough to comfortably sit on them, while the rear wing could be used to hold a picnic. All of this is beautifully complemented by plenty of vents, ducts, slots, and gaps to force the air where it needs to go.
But just looking mean is nothing if it is not backed up by serious performance from the power unit, so Honda made sure to take care of that in a big way, too. The hybrid system in this track-focused Frankenstein’s monster will dish out some 800 rowdy horses (811 PS), with torque figures not yet made available by the automaker.
Regardless, that much grunt from the engine is enough to make quite a few supercars cry tears of shame. And keep in mind, this is reliable power, not some 25-year-old with a laptop who managed to get more grunt out of their ‘92 Civic right before the engine blew.
Needless to say, this CR-V Hybrid Racer project vehicle is something every car enthusiast can get excited about. It’s outrageous, wild, and mean-looking, and goes to show what Honda performance engineers are capable of.
As a kid, Bogdan grew up handing his dad the tools needed to work on his old Citroen and asking one too many questions about everything happening inside the engine bay. Naturally, this upbringing led Bogdan to become an engineer, but thanks to Top Gear, The Fast and the Furious series, and racing video games, a passion for automotive entertainment was ignited. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News