Honda Sports EV Concept at 2017 Tokyo Motor Show

The concept vehicle having its world premiere in Japan likely previews a new compact sports car.

The Honda Sports EV Concept follows the Honda Urban EV Concept that debuted at IAA 2017 last month. While the Urban EV Concept was focused on mobility, the Sports EV Concept is made for driving pleasure. It features a simplistic retro design.

Like the Honda Urban EV Concept, the Honda Sports EV Concept can display interactive messages between its circular headlights, including greetings and the vehicle's charging status. The Honda logo emblem is backlit in blue, a new styling feature for the future Honda EVs. The curvaceous front bumper design gives a modest aggressive grin to the face. The charging port is on the bonnet.

On the sides, the Honda Sports EV has prominent wheel arches, large alloy wheels in a sporty design, black A-pillar that makes the windshield meet the side glasses seamlessly, flush door handles and a charging indicator integrated into the door moulding. At the rear, the squarish tail lamps and the black panel in which they are housed closely mimic those of the Honda Urban EV Concept. The roof is entirely made of glass, and it swiftly merges into the graciously sloping back glass. Looking from a distance, the roof and back glass seem beautifully merged for a one-piece look.

Honda has built the Honda Sports EV Concept on the basis of the entirely new, dedicated EV platform that underpins the Honda Urban EV Concept. The company has, however, further lowered the vehicle's centre of gravity for a sporty driving experience. The 2-door coupe features Honda Automated Network Assistant concierge, which uses the Japanese automaker's AI technology. Honda Automated Network Assistant concierge learns from the driver by detecting emotions behind his/her judgments and then applies this learning to make new choices and recommendations.

Honda has not announced plans to put the Honda Sports EV Concept to production. The company has confirmed, though, that the Honda Urban EV Concept will evolve into a production model. This future model's launch will take place first in Europe, in 2019. Japanese launch will follow in 2020.