Sporty coupe concept joins Honda’s distinctly retro-themed urban EV at the Tokyo Motor Show, as a further indicator of the Japanese manufacturer’s electrification design direction.
It was difficult to point to more than a handful of new vehicle unveilings featuring internal combustion engines at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, with every mainstream manufacturer rushing to showcase electrification strategies, with a variety of distinctly EV-themed concept cars.
Joining Honda’s cutesy Urban EV Concept on stage in the cavernous halls of the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre, was the carmaker’s latest EV concept offering, the highly anticipated Sports EV Concept.
A traditional coupe featuring short overhangs, a long wheelbase and a raked-back cockpit, the Sports EV Concept could point to an enthusiast driver-orientated bridge between the high-performance NSX supercar and the much-feted Civic Type R.
We say “could”, because unlike the Urban EV Concept, which Honda has been quick to reiterate will be built and is destined to go on sale – in Japan at least – in 2020, company CEO Takahiro Hachigo made no mention of a production version of the Sports EV Concept waiting in the wings.
The coupe is built on the same platform as the Urban EV Concept though, so elements of its design and electrical architecture will no doubt make it into production. Rumours of the rebirth of the CR-Z and Integra nameplates have been rife in the build-up to the Sports EV Concept’s unveiling.
Similar to the hatchback concept, Honda says the Sports EV Concept also boasts “artificial intelligence”, pointing to a degree of autonomous drive capability. Actual details of onboard systems are slim, however.
Elsewhere on Honda’s Tokyo Motor Show stand, the company celebrated motorcycling endeavour in the form of new self-levelling technology to mitigate low-speed bike accidents, and tipped a hat to an incredible one hundred million sales of its perennial Super Cub motorbike; the best-selling mode of transport on the planet.
The just-announced plug-in version of the Clarity, the NSX and a variety of mainstream models were also on display at Honda’s stand, but the Sports EV Concept was an undoubted star of the show.
