Honda CR

Honda Performance Development teases a race-ready hybrid for the SUV era.

Honda Performance Development appears determined to push the performance limits of the 10Best-winning 2023 CR-V. The racing and performance arm of the Japanese automaker teased an 800-hp race-ready CR-V to whet enthusiasts' appetites for high-powered four-wheeled machines. Why a CR-V? We don't know, but we theorize that family-man Dominic Toretto may have commissioned this machine that practically screams "I'm a father, but I still live life a quarter-mile at a time."

HPD revealed few details about the vehicle itself, simply sharing that it's being developed with Auto Development Center teams and that motivation comes courtesy of a gasoline-electric powertrain that produces a mind-boggling 800 horsepower. We presume this CR-V rolled out of the factory with the SUV's available 204-hp hybrid powertrain. Then again, it may have had the standard 190-hp four-cylinder. Or HPD simply pulled a body in white from the assembly line before its mass-produced powerplant was ever installed. For now, HPD's keeping such information under wraps.

Fans of Where's Waldo? will have a gas trying to spot this SUV's production pieces in these teaser photos. From what we can tell, the taillights and hatch look like stock pieces, as do the headlights and grille. Otherwise, this CR-V's other pieces appear unique. Most—if not all—of this CR-V's body panels look as though they're bespoke carbon-fiber pieces, including the widened front and rear fenders. Aerodynamic bits dominate the front and rear ends. This includes a bevy of dive planes and a rear wing large enough to get its own representation in Congress.

HPD only supplied one shot of this CR-V's insides, but it appears the stock interior is completely gutted. Meanwhile, the addition of a roll cage ought to provide an extra layer of safety for those seated within this hot hybrid SUV. Look for HPD to share more about its CR-V racer when it reveals the vehicle on February 28.

Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.

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