Do you remember the Honda CR-Z? If not, we don’t blame you. It was only in production from 2011 to 2016 and while it was a hybrid, it technically wasn’t all that great. Its main downfall wasn’t just it’s dismal fuel economy numbers (for a hybrid), but its fatal flaw was that Honda touted it as a “sport hybrid,” which no one really cared for. That, and it was a two-seat car just like the long-gone Honda CR-X that it kind of replaced. However, it might be making a comeback.

The Honda CR-Z nameplate will be revived (at least on paper)

While Honda fanboys (and girls) might have their fingers crossed that the CR-Z could be coming back into the market, the only evidence that we have (as Motor Trend initially discovered) as of late is that Honda recently applied for a new for a trademark for the nameplate. What this means is that no other brand can use the name. What’s odd, as Motor1 noted, is that the original patent for the CR-Z nameplate expired on June 30, 2017.

What that means is that even if Honda applied for a new trademark back then, after the last one expired, it wouldn’t take three years for it to get approved. So that means it’s more likely that they applied for it this year with good reason. And on and even more interesting note, they only applied for it here in the U.S.

Could the CR-Z come back only to the U.S.?

For reference, the previous iteration of the Honda CR-Z was in production in the U.S., Japan, and Europe, so we would think that if Honda were to bring it back it would want to do it on a global scale. Although, if they made it a “U.S. only” car, they would save money, so it makes sense either way.

Whatever the case, we think that if they were going to bring the CR-Z back to the U.S., they would definitely need to put more seats in the car and possibly more doors. Does that sound weird, considering it was a two-door hatchback?

The Honda Insight theory

It doesn’t sound too far-fetched to us because, if you remember, the original Honda Insight (produced from 2000-2006) was a two-door, hybrid hatchback that did marginally well until sales suffered and it was discontinued. Just like the CR-Z. However, in 2010, Honda brought it back as a Prius-fighting four-door hatchback that did marginally well, and then it was discontinued in 2014.

At least the third generation of the Insight is doing much better. So our hypothesis is that Honda could be bringing back the CR-Z in a more practical form, possibly as a sporty-looking sedan or hatchback, with a newer Insight powerplant under the hood. It can only make sense since Honda just axed the Civic Coupe and Civic Si from the lineup and is likely wanting to focus more on fuel efficiency going forward.

Either way, if the CR-Z does make a comeback we can rest assured that it would probably more worthwhile this time around. As history shows, Honda doesn’t completely give up on its models, it merely goes back to the drawing board and improves them.