NEWS
Electric Honda NSX shapes up HondasportsEVs
● Two EV sports cars planned ● Could use solid-state batteries
John McIlroy
John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy
HONDA has started taking the first steps towards full electrification – and now the company has announced that it is working on a pair of sports EVs, including a spiritual successor to the current NSX supercar. The Japanese firm’s existing flagship – the second generation of NSX – has less than a year left to run before it goes out of production. It was one of the first midengined supercars to embrace hybrid power, and Honda’s President, Toshihiro
Mibe, revealed plans for a successor during a video presentation that outlined huge investment in a wider range of electric car projects, including a new joint venture with General Motors on EVs for the US market. Speaking in front of a shadowy teaser of two low-slung vehicles, Mibe said, “We are thinking about the launch of two sports models to the global [market] – a speciality and a flagship, models that embody Honda’s universal sporting mindset and distinct characteristics.” The teasersshow two differentbodystyles, with one model – presumably the NSX’s
Honda’s teaser shot shows that the pair have very different bodystyles
successor – maintaining a mid-engined supercar profile, and the other appearing to have a shape more akin to that of a GT. Mibe did not outline any details on powertrains or battery capacities – and he was careful to not predict a date when the cars may appear. Despite his use of the word ‘global’, it’s also far from certain that
“Honda’s investment in EVs includes a new joint venture with General Motors”
either of the cars will make it to the UK; Honda is likely to focus on Chinese and American-market customers first. Given the relatively high positioning of both sports models, it seems likely that Honda could use them to introduce solidstate batteries, whose much-touted benefits include more compact packaging and the potential for even faster recharge speeds. The global announcement follows a European-focused presentation in which Honda announced plans to bring a new EV based on the e-Ny1 Prototype to market in 2023 as a rival for the Vauxhall Mokka-e.
