COVER Honda’s electric coupé
Striking Sports EV leads stars of the Tokyo Motor Show
HONDA hogged the limelight at last week’s Tokyo Motor Show with the unveiling of its Sports EV Concept. The low-slung, two-seat coupé previews how an all-electric Honda sports car could look, but bosses insist there are currently no plans to put the model into production.
Honda CEO Takahio Hachigo told Auto Express: “We don’t yet have any plans to make it commercial. We are going to see what the feedback is like so we can learn whether we should launch it in the market.”
It follows Honda’s Urban EV supermini concept (opposite), which was first seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and has been confirmed for production in 2019.
The Sports EV sits on the same all-new electric vehicle platform that underpins the supermini, although no technical details have been issued. Given the concept is being marketed as a sports car, it’s likely to be rear-wheel drive, but we understand that the brand is yet to finalise battery density and power for either of the concepts.
Honda has confirmed the Sports EV uses Artificial Intelligence, allowing it to analyse driver behaviour behind the wheel.
The two-seat coupé continues the design theme set out by the Urban EV, adopting a retro-inspired look with square tail-lights, round headlamps and an illuminated front badge set in a blacked-out grille. The long bonnet, flared haunches and coupé roofline give it traditional sports car looks.
Despite being the firm’s headline act in Tokyo, the project only started a few months ago and was created at Honda’s R&D facility in Japan. The team was led by Makoto Harada, whose design was the winner of a company-wide competition. More than 100 entries were put forward, but only seven people worked on the final car.
“When it comes to construction and design, the freedom that the EV system offers in terms of packaging is great,” Harada told us. “Using that, I gave it a traditional low and wide stance, performance car proportions.” Asked if he’d like to see the Sports EV on the road, Harada said: “As a designer who is in charge of this, that would be great.”
Despite Honda’s insistence that no decisions have been made regarding the Sports EV’S production feasibility, Hachigosan confirmed the concept was designed to prove EVS can be fun.
“This new Sports EV is a new proposal developed to show the joy of driving in an electric car,” he said. Honda also confirmed that by 2030, two-thirds of its models sold globally will use some from of electrification, with cars such as the Urban EV proving imperative to the maker’s success.
More concepts will arrive in the near future, too, with Honda design boss Makoto Iwaki revealing: “I cannot tell you the exact timing, but there will be more EV concepts.”
“Given that the Sports EV Concept is being marketed as a sports car, it’s likely to be rear-wheel drive”