Honda has resisted the urge to turn its Jazz into a Type R model for the past three generations, but while it still has no plans to do so with the new fourth-gen model, it now admits there is a possibility of it happening.
So says Autocar, which spoke to the car’s project manager Takeki Tanaka. According to him, the Jazz’s popularity with 20- to 30-year-olds in Asia means that there is demand for a hot version. “There are no plans to launch a sporty version of the Jazz,” he said. “However, when you consider the customer profile in Asia, they tend to love driving dynamically, so there are always possibilities.”
With plenty of modified Jazzes on the roads today, there certainly is a market for a sportier version. Honda has generally left that to third-party tuners like Mugen, so perhaps this is a change of thinking for the carmaker. It should be noted that this runs counter with what other company officials have said in the past – that the the “R” in Type R stands for “racing”, and the Civic is the only current model fit to bear the moniker.
If a Jazz Type R does come to fruition, expect it to come with a version of the regular Civic‘s 1.5 litre VTEC Turbo engine – which itself is related to the naturally-aspirated mill in the standard Jazz. It already produces up to 201 PS in the new Accord, so there certainly is enough power if Honda decides to go through with it.
GALLERY: 2020 Honda Jazz
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All’s good but if it enters the market with a 200k price tag then HM can forget about bringing it in.
Maybe between rm200k to rm300k
True dat, regular jazz already around 70k, Type-R would be a significant rise. While the GT86 is only around 100k used. If I want such car, the used GT86 is much more appealing.
Looking at its direct competitors sold here previously – Pug 208 Gti, Renault Clio RS, Ford Fiesta ST and VW Polo GTI – the possible price would be in the range of RM140k – RM170k.
ugly, current Jazz looks better
yes..why not brv type r? hrv type r? stream type r?
With 201hp engine for Jazz Type R, it is difficult to compete with Yaris GR & Golf GTI
With that cutesy look, no one will take it seriously
This is no longer curtesy look, everyone will buy handsome ones instead this
How about Honda kapchai Type R? hehe…
Jazz Type R is a good idea, but not in cutie upcoming generation. Current generation is better!
What a girly car