► Intriguing electric sports car concept
► Four motors, 4wd, clever torque vectoring
► ‘I would like to see it in production’, says the boss
Honda’s R&D might is committed on many fronts, from bringing down the cost of fuel-cell powertrains to perfecting ASIMO-inspired walking-assist systems for the elderly and disabled. But for driving enthusiasts an all-wheel-drive battery electric sports car is one of the most intriguing.
Effectively a halfway house between Honda’s all-electric based Pikes Peak racer (which won the development class this year, the hillclimb’s equivalent of Le Mans’ Garage 56), this prototype is a waypoint in the firm’s journey to bring an affordable BEV sports car to market. The aim is to create a car that compensates for its poor power-to-weight ratio with the kind of traction and agility a conventionally powered car could only dream of, thanks to intelligent all-wheel drive, rear-wheel steering and torque-vectoring. To deliver this the car uses four independent electric motors, mounted inboard.
The Pikes Peak car weighed a stonking 1800kg, used a 50kWh battery and developed 444bhp for a hardly inspiring power-to-weight ratio of 0.246bhp per kg, versus development class rivals with 1bhp per kg. Nevertheless the Honda, which looks like a kind of Super GT CR-Z, triumphed over the 12.5-mile course.
The prototype uses a 16kWh battery to deliver 247bhp and an all-up weight of 1600kg. Honda claims a 130mph top speed and 3.5 seconds for the 0-60mph dash. The bad news? A range of some 15 miles or so at present, if you regularly dip into the car’s performance potential, though Honda is targeting a 250-mile range for the production car.
So there’s a long way to go, both in terms of bringing down the cost and increasing the range, but they’re Honda’s problems, and they’ve got some pretty sizeable brains on the job. What’s encouraging is that it’s spectacularly good fun to drive.
The weight is omnipresent of course but, like the new NSX, the EV CR-Z carries its mass low and, for as long as the batteries last, the car bludgeons physics with mighty grip, strong performance and a real interactivity to the way it tackles corners. Plant the ‘loud’ pedal and the EV CR-Z launches like a cat on deep carpet: no lag, no scrappy losses of traction. Resist the temptation to stop accelerating, drag the brake pedal into a corner, come off it to set the tail a little wide, and then get back on the throttle without delay. Now the EV CR-Z really comes alive, juggling power between the wheels to preserve the ideal blend of slide and drive. No soaring revs or the smell of exotic fuel being burned but you’ll find yourself giggling out loud nonetheless. Chances are the usually po-faced Honda engineer sitting next to you will be doing the same. As well as torque vectoring, the car also uses rear-wheel steering to help speed turn-in and to adjust the car’s attitude.
Further good news comes with admission from Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo that he’s driven the car and that he’s a fan: ‘This car is the result of a project in which Honda young engineers are working on a fun to drive electric car. It is very enjoyable. I would like to see it in production. The next phase of development is the preparation for mass production – I hope they can do this soon.’
Click here to read CAR’s first drive of the 2016 Honda NSX