The production version of the Honda E finally debuted at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this week. It’s a cute little electric car for the city with a retro design and minimalistic, smart cabin. The current range-topping model has 154 bhp – while that’s a decent figure for an RWD hatchback that weighs approximately 1,400 kilograms, it’s definitely not going to provide a true performance car experience behind the wheel. Designer Avarvarii decided to fix that with a fictional sports version wearing the Type R index, an ideological successor to the City Turbo II from the past.
Let’s begin with the good news. This thing looks great – it sits a little lower to the ground compared to the regular car and has a subtle aerodynamic package, consisting of new side skirts, additional front bumper lip, and a stylish spoiler at the back. Type R-specific wheels and tyres complete the kit together with Type R badging below the Honda logo on the front fascia.
The Honda E is adorable!
And now about the bad news. Unfortunately, Honda has no intentions to bring such a car to the market as the company will instead focus its efforts towards more intelligent and technologically advanced versions of the zero-emission model. A Honda E Type R “is not the way to go,” project leader Kohei Hitomi told Autocar at the 2019 IAA near River Main.
"For some segments, it might be the right choice and Type R is a way to express Honda’s capability as a sporty brand. But for Honda E, we want to provide a new dimension of values for our customers,” Hitomi added.
This means the idea of a performance Honda E will remain in our heads only. This cool rendering might inspire tuning companies to work on the electric vehicle but we don’t have high hopes for the time being.
Sources: Motor.es, Avarvarii