Honda: Honda Coupe bonanza
Three sporty concepts from Honda – Accord, Acura and Remix – hint at more exciting future production models
Honda seems keen to regain its sporting image, if its recent American motor show launches are anything to go by. Most significant is the Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept (Acura being Honda's upmarket badge in the US), launched at Detroit this month. According to Honda chief Takeo Fukui, the design ‘offers a glimpse of the next Acura exotic sports car'. And for that read ‘next-generation NSX’.
Earlier, during December’s Los Angeles motor show, Honda started tongues wagging when it displayed the Remix concept car, a compact coupe with more than a whiff of CRX about it. While the official company line is a firm ‘it’s just a concept’, unofficially Honda folk are very excited about the prospect of the Remix heralding the return of the small, fun, affordable coupe.
Styled in Honda’s Californian studio, the two-seater Remix looks a bit heavy-handed at the rear, but its comparatively tall tail gives it the sort of practicality that’s currently in vogue within coupe design – look at VW's Iroc concept, for instance (Planet evo, issue 100).
Meanwhile, back in Detroit, Honda unveiled a concept for the next Accord coupe. It’s very much aimed at the US market – the car has traditionally flopped in the UK – but its overall styling is said to give a strong indication of how the next Accord saloon will look.
