A micro EV with box flares and sports seats? It's only been a few weeks since the N-One electric minicar hit the market in Japan, but Honda is already pumping out cool new takes on it. The Honda Super-One concept is our first look at Honda's plan to make its city car more fun. Better yet, Honda says it's actually going to build it. Too bad it's forbidden fruit for those of us across the pond.
An 'Uplifting' Everyday Car
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Honda describes the concept as "e: Dash BOOSTER," and no, we don't have any idea what that's supposed to mean either. The idea is an everyday car that's "an exciting and uplifting experience."
The N-One it is based on is one of Japan's iconic and ultra-practical Kei cars. The N-One EV is just 133-inches long, makes 53 horsepower, and it has a range of about 155 miles. Plenty for the chaos of Tokyo.
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This version promises to make the experience more fun, through features Honda says are "designed to stimulate all of the driver's senses to the 'joy of driving'" that it says you can only get from small sporty EVs. To become a sporty small EV, Honda has done things like pack wider tires into those adorably tiny box flare fenders. How much wider? Honda didn't say.
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Another sporty feature is Boost Mode. It increases power output – we still don't know by how much – to make the car a little quicker. Honda does have some room to play with here, with most cars in the segment maxing out at the unofficial 63-horsepower limit.
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Boost Mode will also adjust Honda's fake seven-speed "transmission" and the active sound system. It will feel like it has a real gearbox instead of a single-speed electric drive, and it will sound and feel quicker than it is. Honda says it'll even add vibration to make it feel like a sports car. Expect something like the system in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.
Honda is adding new air vents to both bumpers, another feature that's meant to make it look like a sports car. The automaker says they're functional, too, enhancing aero performance. Hop into the tiny cabin, and you'll find surprisingly heavily bolstered sports seats. The seats get white, grey, and blue trim again to make it feel more interesting as well as keeping the driver in place.
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This article originally appeared on CarBuzz and is republished here with permission.
