Let's Hope Honda's Electric Sports Car Concept Doesn't Just Break Our Hearts
Remember that adorable retro-futuristic electric compact car concept Honda dangled in front of us a couple weeks ago? Apparently the company's going to put a sports car body on the same platform to help convince us that EVs are awesome. It's a great pitch, I just hope Honda's not planning on pulling a CR-Z with these things.
Honda's announced it plans to pull the cover off what it's calling the Sports EV Concept at the Tokyo Auto Show, which opens October 25. So far, the Japanese automaker has only dropped one conceptual illustration of the rear quarter and this nonsensical nothingburger describing it:
The Honda Sports EV Concept aims to realize a feel of unity with the car, combining EV performance and AI with a compact form. While sharing the platform with Honda Urban EV Concept, its unforgettable silhouette, friendly front fascia that naturally blends into any lifestyle, and supple surfaces make it a next-generation sports car that brings joy and emotional attachment in ownership.
I don't know what exactly Honda's driving at with this automotive artificial intelligence stuff, but the idea of an electric car platform as a skateboard that could have a hatchback, sports car or whatever other kind of body mounted to it is a great way to convince real car fans that EVs have more to offer than just efficiency.
Flexibility, yeah, I'm into it.
And I'm really into the old-is-new design Honda trotted out in the form of the Urban EV concept. Honda's artists pretty much ported the original look of the 1970s Civic into today's design language and produced one of the prettiest concepts we've seen in some time.
I think it's safe to say that a sports car rendered in the same aesthetic would also be excellent.
My excitement is going to stay muted though, because as much as I can appreciate pretty show cars I'm a little once-bitten-twice-shy after the Honda CR-Z was hyped as an electrified second coming of another classic, the CRX hot hatch, but turned out to be more like a fatter economy-focused Insight.
Even fresher in my memory is the Nissan IDx. Remember how stoked we all were at that brilliant stroke of retro-futurism? The car made the rounds through car shows for, what, two years, only to fade quietly into the night and be forgotten. And while Honda's designers seem all about old-school cool as they reveal these concepts, the cars that the company's actually bringing to market right now are decidedly ultra-modern and razor-edged.
If this electric sports car concept is anywhere near as cool looking as the Urban EV, I'm sure a lot of us will love it. I'm just not too optimistic about which parts will trickle to production.