When Honda->ke34 was teasing us with the Honda CR-Z back in late-2009 and early-2010, the teaser commercials showed us a hybrid that provided the perfect balance of economy and sport. This made us all immediately think that we were about the get the performance-minded hybrid we had been hoping for.

Well, when we finally received the specs on the 2011 CR-Z, we were slightly disappointed with the 122 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque that its 1.5-liter 4-pot pumped out. We were even more distraught when we found out that it only got 31 mpg city and 37 mpg highway – both numbers are now eclipsed by gasoline-only cars. The lack of power translated out to an 8.3-second sprint to 60 mph, which was about 1.5 seconds slower than we all expected to see.

Well, it looks like Jackson Racing has finally come up with a solution for those disappointed CR-Z drivers, as it has released a supercharger that will add some excitement to the equation, but only for 6-speed models.

This supercharger is available in three stages: tune yourself for $3,995, factory tuned for $4,495, and tuner system for $4,995. The first option includes only the supercharger system, the second system includes the supercharger, Hondata ECU remap and high-flow injectors, and the final kit includes the supercharger, Hondata FlashPro, Jackson's CR-Z FlashPro calibration and high-flow injectors.

The latter kit will push the CR-Z's output up by up to 50 horsepower and 45 pound-feet of torque, which increases it to an acceptable 172 horsepower and 173 pound-feet of torque. This likely brings the CR-Z's 0 to 60 time into its anticipated range of about 6.7 seconds.

According to Jackson, this kit will not affect the CR-Z's fuel economy under regular driving. However, if you like to keep your foot in the cooling fan, you will likely see steep fuel economy drop off. Jackson is currently working on an option for those with the whiny CVT. We say step one of that process should include scrapping the transmission, but we may be a little biased...

Click past the jump to read the presser.

2012 Honda CRZ by Jackson Racing

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  • Model: 2012 Honda CRZ by Jackson Racing
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