A rumor out of Japan says that Honda is planning an electric coupe. The car is reportedly scheduled for a 2028 introduction, and is one of several EV models the company is planning for the next several years. The crop would allegedly include several crossovers, as well as an NSX-type electric flagship.
Back in April, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe outlined an “EV roadmap” promising 30 electric models by 2030. Not all of them would be sold in North America. Ranging from commercial kei vehicles to supercars, Honda hopes to produce around 2 million EVs annually by the end of the decade.
Buried in that plan was this little nugget: “We are currently exploring the global introduction of two sports models, specialty and flagship models,” Mibe said.
In Japan, “specialty car” is a term that can include stylish coupes like the Toyota Celica or Mazda MX-6. This led Japan’s Best Car to interpret the car as a Prelude successor when reporting on the 2028 introduction. Furthermore, the magazine says that the flagship EV will utilize solid-state batteries, which are lighter and more energy-dense than current EV battery technology. They’re calling this car the NSX and predicts it will go head-to-head against the next-generation R36 Nissan GT-R.
Honda, for its part, is saying solid-state batteries will begin to appear in Honda EVs starting in the latter half of the 2020s. The company is also working on two in-house EV platforms, one for compacts and one for large vehicles.
The Honda Prelude was introduced to the U.S. market in 1979, evolving through five generations before its discontinuation at the end of the 2001 model year. It remained a beloved sport coupe during that time and continued to advance into, by its final iteration, one of the finest-handling and best-balanced front-wheel-drive cars ever built.
Mibe has said that the electric sports cars “will inherit the ‘joy of driving’ and embody Honda’s inalterable sports mindset and distinctive characteristics.” If so, we’d welcome an EV that can reproduce the Prelude’s preternatural connection to the road.
