Mugen Custom Honda Civic Type R, ZR-V Will Be Present at the Tokyo Auto Salon

• We don’t know much about Mugen’s customized Honda Civic Type R yet—should save something for the upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon—but images of Honda’s specialist tuning firm Honda’s ZR-V have been released.
• The photos depict what is essentially a hybrid HR-V with some black accents and spoiler, quad exhausts and a modified fascia.
• Mugen will also showcase racing vehicles and technology from the All Japan Super Formula Championship series.

Honda fans wanting a little decoration on their subcompact crossover will want to check out the two modified vehicles that Japanese tuner Mugen will be bringing to the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon next month.

We don’t yet know the details of the Honda Civic Type R that Mugen will bring to Tokyo, as that reveal is being kept for show. But Mugen has shown pictures of the customized ZR-V (similar to the HR-V in North America) that will be at a SEMA-like event in Japan.

The Mugen ZR-V is called the “ZR-V e:HEV Mugen Custom Concept,” and has been updated with a modified front fascia, larger side skirts, and an unusual tailgate-mounted spoiler that sits alongside the Honda badge. Mugen also added black design stickers around the bottom of the crossover, black side mirror caps, a small piece of black cladding in the lower rear corner, and custom alloy wheels. This change is supposed to represent what Mugen calls “Emotional Urban Sports” (according to Google Translate).

kinda ridiculous
As Mugen’s theme for the Tokyo Auto Salon is “Mugen Power 2023”, it will also carry two racing vehicles from the All Japan Super Formula Championship. Mugen will also showcase the telemetry system it uses for this race, enabling “a whole new way to watch motorsports,” the company said.

An image Mugen has released of the custom ZR-V shows a blue Honda badge and the company’s e:HEV logo, meaning that the tuner did his job on a ZR-V with a hybrid powertrain. Even so, Mugen decided that a quad exhaust system was appropriate. Whether a change like this actually makes the HR-V look more appealing is still up for debate. When Mugen duped the HR-V in 2021, Top Gear wondered if “the difference between a bark and a bite” [was].”

The Tokyo Auto Salon takes place between January 13 and 15 at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba, near Tokyo.