MUGEN Playing With the Idea of a Hotter Honda Jazz

Honda has stopped making cars we like (think S2000) and is focusing more on the eco side of things, so it’s up to MUGEN now to save the performance image of the famous Japanese brand. The division is becoming more and more active as time passes and is now considering a sporty version on the Jazz.

Honda’s UK-based performance tuning division has admitted to Autocar that it has a “desire” to develop a hot version of the Japanese manufacturer’s Jazz supermini. We’re talking about the guy behind that hot little CR-Z hybrid that offers the same kind of performance as the Civic Type R.

“Always in the back of our mind as a car that we’d like to do is the Jazz,” revealed MUGEN Euro’s general manager Colin Whittamore.

That might have clued you in as to what will power the MUGEN Jazz, as the people carrier could have the same 1.5-liter CR-Z that is being tested right now and promises to offer 197 bhp, sent directly to the front wheels.

The normally aspirated revving 2.0-litre VTEC unit, similar to that used in the last Civic Type R, is also being considered, but our money is on the supercharged 1.5-liter gas-electric unit, as the Jazz already has a hybrid version being sold. Whittamore said that it “wouldn’t be much of a stretch” to fit the 197bhp supercharged version of the CR-Z’s 1.5-litre hybrid motor, currently being dyno-tested by the company in the UK ahead of a public debut at the Goodwood.

It should be interesting to see a practicality-focused five-door people carrier designed to work with CVTs and small 100 hp engines hitting the track while propelled by 200 supercharged horsepower.