The new CEO of Honda, Takanobu Ito has confirmed a rumor we have heard for a while in an announcement last Friday. He said the company would be launching a CR-Z sports hybrid in February of 2010.
Though the vehicle will continue to use the same 1.3 L VTEC engine found in Honda's Insight, it will have a more powerful electric motor, giving the car a total of 130 hp and 200 lb-ft of torque. The Insight delivers 98 hp.
The car should be able to go from 0 to 60 in 9 seconds and get an average fuel economy of 55 MPG. Ito also confirmed that Honda will be producing a hybrid version of the Fit by the end of 2010.
"I think everyone is going to go the way of hybrids," said Ito. "Bringing hybrids quickly to customers will be a major focus of our activities. I want Honda to be a speedy company."
Furthermore Ito said Honda was also developing a larger hybrid system using 2 electric motors, similar to GMs 2-mode hybrid system. This will be used for larger vehicles, trucks, and SUVs.
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