Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept

By Ben Whitworth

First Official Pictures

08 March 2007 08:56

The world's first 80mpg sports coupe

Green doesn’t have to mean dull and worthy – that Honda’s message behind its intriguing-looking Small Hybrid Sports Concept, star of its show stand and likely to enter production within the next two years. Sitting on a modified Civic platform, the European designed SHSC is powered by 1.4-litre VTEC petrol and electric engines, that will, Honda claims, return 80mpg on the urban cycle, with low emission levels of 120g/km. The teardrop-shaped two-seater also features massive low-resistance 20-inch tyres and a full-length glass roof that flows into its tail.

Another more realistic version of the SHSC will be unveiled on Honda’s home ground at the Tokyo Motor Show later in the year, but despite the two-seat two-door comparisons, Honda is keen to stress that the car is not a second-generation Insight. ‘It’s much more than that,’ said one official. ‘This is much more of a step ahead than Insight ever was.’ But before the hybrid coupe bows in, Honda will unveil a hybrid version of the current Civic hatchback, using an updated version of the tried-and-tested hybrid technology first seem on the 1999 Insight and more recently on the Civic IMA saloon.

By Ben Whitworth