2009 Honda Civic Hybrid on 2040-cars

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Honda customizing Vezel to headline Tokyo Auto Salon lineup

With the Tokyo Motor Show now behind it, the Japanese automotive industry is gearing up for the next big event. That'd be the Tokyo Auto Salon, Japan's equivalent to SEMA or Essen, set to take place at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba. Subaru has already announced what it has in store for the tuner expo, and now Honda has followed suit.
Most interesting of all the tuner concepts Honda has lined up are a pair of modified Vezel crossovers. The one pictured above is kitted out with parts from the Modulo catalog, while a second one is being prepared by Mugen (similar to the one recently leaked). Both look pretty sharp and hint at the possibilities in store for the Fit-based crossover that'll come to these shores with turbo power.
Honda is also displaying Modulo and Mugen versions of a number of other vehicles, including its N family of Kei cars, the new JDM Odyssey and the Fit. There's an N-WGN kitted out like a cookie delivery truck, an N-Box+ modified to look like an Element, a series of Ninja Turtles-inspired Grom motorbikes and an array of racing machinery. Check 'em all out in the gallery above and the press release below.

Acura NSX GT3 to make public debut this week at Mid-Ohio

The new Acura NSX had a very long and very public gestation period. The car went through a number of redesigns and revisions, all while enthusiasts watched and waited. With the production version just now ramping up for customer deliveries, Acura revealed that it was working on a race car for FIA GT3 homologation. While the car was shown in New York, no one outside of Honda has seen it testing on track. This week, the NSX GT3 will make its public testing debut at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course ahead of the Pirelli World Challenge and IndyCar races. View 13 Photos While the car will be on track during testing and practice sessions, it won't actually be competing with the rest of the field. The car is still in the testing phase and won't be fully FIA approved until at least September. Acura is confident that the car will make its racing debut in 2017. The company also made it clear that this is not the final version of the car and that things like aero and engine tuning are still being worked out. Until now, the NSX GT3 has only tested at private events in Europe, Japan and the US. This week, the NSX GT3 will be piloted by Dutch racing driver Peter Kox. Kox drives for RealTime Racing, a team that currently campaigns an Acura TLX GT. This week's car will be the primary tester, though if something goes sideways there are multiple backup cars. The NSX GT3 differs in a number of ways from the road car, most notably its lack of hybrid all-wheel drive system. The NSX GT3 uses the same twin-turbocharged V6 as the road car, but sends all the power through the rear wheels. It also uses the same space frame as the road car. While the road going version receives final assembly in Honda's Ohio factory, final touches to the GT3 car are done elsewhere. Although the car will only be testing on Thursday and Friday, it will be on display all weekend in the paddock. For more info on this weekend's Mid-Ohio race, check out the Pirelli World Challenge page here. Related Video: Motorsports Acura Honda honda nsx acura nsx gt3

Honda Civic Tourer to debut at Frankfurt

Honda will be bringing its new Civic Tourer to next month's Frankfurt Motor Show, just as we predicted in our spy shots of the new MPV from back in April. The new model, which will arrive in European dealers in 2014, will be built alongside Honda's Euro-spec Civic hatchback, Jazz (Honda Fit) and CR-V in Swindon, Wiltshire, UK.
Honda first hinted at the Civic Tourer with a concept at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, which is set to do battle with the Toyota Auris and Volkswagen Golf in the European market. The production Civic Tourer will also be shown alongside a refreshed Civic hatchback, yet another NSX Concept variant, a McLaren MP4/4 Formula One car, and Honda's World Touring Car Championship Civic.