Photo: Honda via Autovisie
Patent images of a Honda mid-engined sports car emerged in June 2015, hinting that the Japanese automaker was looking to develop a model below the NSX. Now, further details have arrived and they suggest the model will be angled towards the green side of the market.
Previous reports suggested the engineers in Tokyo were split between using a 1.5-litrer turbo engine or a 2-liter one. Now an Auto Express report clears the air by saying the smaller 1.5 will be used.
It's not a 3-cylinder that sounds like a rattly diesel, but an all-new 4-cylinder with direct injection and advanced internal components. Under the hood of the 2016 Civic, it already delivers 175 horsepower, though the number could grow substantially in the sportscar.
You see, while the Civic can't have turbo lag, the yet unnamed sports car will have two electric motors to fill the torque gaps. The total output is rumored to be somewhere in the region of 300 ponies.
So what if the next A45 AMG will have 400? So what if the Golf R400 is coming? Call us easy to please, but that to us sounds like enough power. In this emissions-obsessed environment, the S2000 successor will do something no Porsche Boxster can: run on electricity.
Speaking of Porsche, we need to place the Honda sports car in context and say the 911 people will use a downsized four-cylinder turbo in the next Cayman S that will have 300 hp.
The undisclosed source of the UK car magazine says the Honda model will arrive in 2018. Prices will start from about £50,000 (€68,000 or €75,000). That's Corvette money, but still half the price of a brand new BMW i8. The Cayman, Audi TT, BMW Z4 and Alfa Romeo 4C are all within reach.
We think it's a great idea to make an affordable, great 2-seater. Even Volkswagen played with the idea a few years back, promising to put its rear-engined BlueSport convertible concept into production. Ironically, the 2-liter turbo they used was one of the dreaded TDI units.
It's not a 3-cylinder that sounds like a rattly diesel, but an all-new 4-cylinder with direct injection and advanced internal components. Under the hood of the 2016 Civic, it already delivers 175 horsepower, though the number could grow substantially in the sportscar.
You see, while the Civic can't have turbo lag, the yet unnamed sports car will have two electric motors to fill the torque gaps. The total output is rumored to be somewhere in the region of 300 ponies.
So what if the next A45 AMG will have 400? So what if the Golf R400 is coming? Call us easy to please, but that to us sounds like enough power. In this emissions-obsessed environment, the S2000 successor will do something no Porsche Boxster can: run on electricity.
Speaking of Porsche, we need to place the Honda sports car in context and say the 911 people will use a downsized four-cylinder turbo in the next Cayman S that will have 300 hp.
The undisclosed source of the UK car magazine says the Honda model will arrive in 2018. Prices will start from about £50,000 (€68,000 or €75,000). That's Corvette money, but still half the price of a brand new BMW i8. The Cayman, Audi TT, BMW Z4 and Alfa Romeo 4C are all within reach.
We think it's a great idea to make an affordable, great 2-seater. Even Volkswagen played with the idea a few years back, promising to put its rear-engined BlueSport convertible concept into production. Ironically, the 2-liter turbo they used was one of the dreaded TDI units.
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