So a little feedback on Tuesday’s trip to Rockingham and my session behind the wheel of the Honda CR-Z Mugen. It was short but, as the saying goes, sweet. No road time but about a dozen high-speed laps of the BTCC circuit was enough to demonstrate the car’s strengths. Costing in excess of £150k, this one-off prototype has been designed and built to push hybrid technology in front of a new type of customer, to show that you can have your cake and eat it. The idea is that it offers Civic Type R levels of performance and on a drying track, and with all the electronic aids switched off, it did that and more. The super-sticky Yokohamas helped, but car’s solid chassis and motorsport-derived mechanicals are clearly a strength. Now a strict two-seater rather than a 2+2, and with a host of upgrades including a supercharger, it just kept going, lap after lap, getting quicker and quicker as my confidence grew. What’s more, it made a fantastic noise. With 50 per cent more power and torque, any production version – and nothing has been decided – won’t be cheap. But it will certainly appeal to a limited number of enthusiasts and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s good news for them in the next few months. It would be a welcome addition to the continuing Honda/Mugen family.
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