Yes! Honda's Electric Sports Car Is Real, but Timing Remains Uncertain
Honda's CEO says an electrified GT is coming, but not for a while still as the market dictates EV popularity.
Want an electric sports car from Honda? So does Honda Motor Co. CEO Toshihiro Mibe, but not quite yet.
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Honda has already built prototype electric sports cars but now is not the right time to bring them to market, Mibe told reporters in Tokyo for the Japan Mobility Show. “We do have research on EV-based sports cars, and we have many prototypes already made internally,” he said.
However, given the slowing demand for electric cars in general, the CEO says it is difficult to determine when the company's electric sports car might make the best sense in the market. “We have to decide on timing, when to make that available as a product sometime in the future,” he said.
“In R&D, we have technology being developed, so some time in the future we will provide you with [an electric] GT,” Mibe continued.
Honda in recent years had the hybrid Acura NSX, and as CEO, Mibe greenlit the return of the hybrid Honda Prelude as a specialty sports model, emblematic of the manufacturer's take on modern powertrains. He personally bought a 2026 Prelude and drives it regularly.
Formula 1 Is Chance to Showcase EV Prowess
As Mibe said he hopes to find the right timing to launch an electric sports car, he in the meantime pointed out how the automaker will demonstrate its electrified power-unit capabilities in Formula 1. Sports cars and racing are key domains for Honda and that will continue to be the case in the EV age.
Honda, which is in its final season as power-unit supplier to Red Bull Racing, will continue to show its prowess as it returns to F1 next year with Aston Martin. Just a few years ago, Honda planned to exit F1 entirely but did an about face to remain in the series, lured back by new engine regulations for 2026 with a greater focus on electric power. The new F1 rules will require the ars to receive 50 percent of their power from the internal combustion engine and 50 percent from the electric motor. That is up from 20-percent electric power now.
Honda sees F1 as a platform to facilitate development of its electrification technologies. “We are going to participate as a works team,” Mibe said, meaning the company is throwing its full weight behind the new engine program.
Alisa Priddle joined MotorTrend in 2016 as the Detroit Editor. A Canadian, she received her Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and has been a reporter for 40 years, most of it covering the auto industry because there is no more fascinating arena to cover. It has it all: the vehicles, the people, the plants, the competition, the drama. Alisa has had a wonderfully varied work history as a reporter for four daily newspapers including the Detroit Free Press where she was auto editor, and the Detroit News where she covered the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies, as well as auto trade publication Wards, and two enthusiast magazines: Car & Driver and now MotorTrend. At MotorTrend Alisa is a judge for the MotorTrend Car, Truck, SUV and Person of the Year. She loves seeing a new model for the first time, driving it for the first time, and grilling executives for the stories behind them. In her spare time, she loves to swim, boat, sauna, and then jump into a cold lake or pile of snow.
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