Honda is getting ready to put on its racing suit for the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), in which it will participate with the new European Civic hatchback. �We have made a decision to enter into the WTCC with the European Civic," said Honda CEO, Takanobu Ito, on the announcement. "We will develop a totally new engine for this project and we are all excited about starting this new challenge." The Japanese automaker revealed that its Research and Development division will design a bespoke 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder racing engine with direct-injection in accordance with FIA�s Super 2000 regulations.
When the people over at Honda�s tuning partner Mugen aren�t working on more interesting and unique projects like the Civic Type R and even the CR-Z, they are usually kept busy with the brand�s more mundane vehicles such as the newly introduced Fit Shuttle. The Japan market only Fit Shuttle is a slightly taller, longer and more practical version of the Fit (also marketed as the Jazz in certain countries) which itself is a tall five-door subcompact model.
The almost production ready Honda Mugen CR-Z Concept wasn�t the only product from the Japanese automaker�s in-house tuning company to debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Along with the street-legal CR-Z Concept Mugen also brought along a competition version bearing the �RR� moniker. The conceptual Mugen CR-Z RR sports a more dynamic aero package comprising of bespoke parts such as the wider front and rear bumpers with air-vents, side skirts, a rear diffuser and larger rear wing.
