How hybrids should be, the Bisimoto Honda CR-Z

There are cars you write about and hope to get close to one day. Then, there is the chance someone asks you to drive one of them, in this case, the Bisimoto Honda CR-Z.

Hybrids are not for wusses.

As journalists, we write about cars we can only dream of getting close to. My first break was driving the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. It was every bit as amazing as the car is made out to be. Another car, I’ve written about is the Bisimoto Honda CR-Z, shown at the 2011 SEMA. It not only confirmed my feeling that hybrids have more potential than mere energy saving, it can truly deliver an astonishing amount of horsepower.

The incredible Bisimoto CR-Z.

Reason 5,399 why you should always go to Cars & Coffee is that you never know what can happen. Case in point, as I was walking around and heard a specific, yet intriguing grumble that made me turn around. Lo and behold, a highly supped up Honda CR-Z pulls in, attracting its fair share of onlookers. If you recall, I particularly enjoyed test driving the 2013 CR-Z and was left feeling it begged for development and more performance. This was it. Someone had done what I didn’t do.

I talked to the owner, David, who told it was the Bisimoto’s 2011 SEMA prototype. David must have felt sorry for me, he eventually said I could drive it. I stuck next to him as if the world depended on it, for the next hour or so. In the meantime, I met Bisi, the genius behind this extraordinary feast of hybrid performance. Bisi is about as nice as anyone gets. In this world of prima donas and solid egos, Bisi is a refreshing reminder powerful cars can be fun without pretense. More to come on that when I meet this week.

The drive.

There are cars you push, and there are cars you don’t need to do much with. The Bisimoto CR-Z prototype is about as much fun as it gets. Get inside the rollover cage and set yourself in a comfortable position on the perfect carbon fiber bucket seats. After that, click the many points race seatbelt and take time to listen to the car before engaging that gear. A race clutch is what it is, short, sweet and demanding. Yet, the Bisimoto’s wasn’t too much to handle. It was simply perfect and I could see myself driving it almost daily.

First, second, all the way to sixth gear is very different from a normal CR-Z. The engine nicely revs all the way up to 7,500. David has it detuned to 325 HP, and I can handle 545 HP with 324 Lb. Ft. of torque. I took the car around the Irvine streets and finally merged onto the 405 highway. Where people woefully slow down to a crawl on the left side turn of the highway entrance, the CR-Z was ready to pick up more speed… and it did. Pretty soon we found ourselves at an effortless 70 MPH where I curbed my enthusiasm. The police knows very well about Cars & Coffee, and I didn’t want to add to the ticket statistics.

Exit right then a hard left corner, and the car is very poised, showing plenty of leeway. Back onto the highway, I stabilized it once more at 70 MPH, only using its fifth gear to overtake annoying left lane slow traffic to maintain a steady speed. Now here’s the best part. At that speed, the car consumes only 38 MPG. Not too many 324 HP cars can claim that.

We’ll let you watch the rest of the interview on the video. Unfortunately, the little time I had to set up and the blinding sun made for a poor shot. Still, enjoy what David had to say. He rightfully sums it up as driving this car is like having Corvette horsepower in a race car you only fill up once in a rare while. Needless to say, I am actively seeking out angel investors and sponsors to buy the car!