Honda: there will be Type R version of pure electric vehicles
CTOnews.com July 24, Honda's technical consultant Yamamoto Hiroshi told Autocar magazine when he launched the new Honda e:Ny1 electric SUV in Norway. He said that Honda's famous Type R logo will continue to exist in the electric era, as long as the electric car can provide enough fun to drive.
"Type R is an attribute that maximizes the fun of driving and operation," Yamamoto Hiroshi said. "if an electric car can convey this kind of fun, then the car can be called Type R." He also denied the possibility that other Honda models, such as the Honda CR-V, the Honda HR-V and the smaller Honda Jazz, would introduce a Type R performance version. This means that the current Civic Type R will be the last internal combustion engine model with this logo, after which it will enter the era of electrification.
CTOnews.com noted that Honda recently launched a special track-specific CR-V powered by a high-performance 800hp V6 hybrid engine. "I think Type R will always exist," Yamamoto Hiroshi said. "if one day we enter an all-electric society, there will still be Type R."
Yamamoto Hiroshi also said, "there is still some time for the internal combustion engine to survive because Honda has clearly expressed its interest in e-fuel (synthetic fuel). But you don't have to use an internal combustion engine, it can be something electrified or completely electrified."
As for Honda's existing series of electric cars, which currently include Honda E and e:Ny1, there will be no performance version. Yamamoto confirmed that the e:Ny1 will not have a performance version or a four-wheel drive version because of its platform limitations, but there will be more powerful versions of electric cars based on EN architecture in the future. "this platform does not support four-wheel drive, but the platform family-- the EN architecture-- is designed to accommodate different drive units and drive configurations, so maybe we will see two or three motor versions in the future," Yamamoto said.
