Honda Boss Says There's 'Absolutely' Room For a New Sports Car
“I can’t tell you anything about the ‘baby NSX’ … I could, but I’d probably get fired.”
Those are the words of John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda and a man who is, most likely, intimately familiar with a new mystery sports car the brand appears to be planning.
Recently uncovered patent illustrations seem to indicate that Honda is developing something that looks like a shrunken version of its new NSX supercar. Or not. We really don’t know.
But we’re pretty certain Mendel does and the fact that he even acknowledged this car speaks volumes.
When queried about upcoming vehicles, executives inevitably respond with a carefully rehearsed line about “not commenting on future products.” Read into all of this what you want, but it sounds promising.
Today there’s definitely whitespace in Honda’s lineup for some enthusiast-focused models. Right now the only performance car they offer is the Civic Si and it’s about as hot as a bowl of vichyssoise. When asked if there’s room for a dedicated driver’s machine Mendel said, “Absolutely there is.”
SEE ALSO: Honda Civic, Accord Plug-In Culled
Could the firm be working on a successor to the much-loved S2000 sports car that was discontinued several years ago? We certainly hope so, though the vehicle shown in those patent drawings seems to be something more, perhaps even a budget version of the NSX. Wouldn’t that be awesome?
Discuss this story on our NSX Forum.
Born and raised in metro Detroit, Craig was steeped in mechanics from childhood. He feels as much at home with a wrench or welding gun in his hand as he does behind the wheel or in front of a camera. Putting his Bachelor's Degree in Journalism to good use, he's always pumping out videos, reviews, and features for AutoGuide.com. When the workday is over, he can be found out driving his fully restored 1936 Ford V8 sedan. Craig has covered the automotive industry full time for more than 10 years and is a member of the Automotive Press Association (APA) and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA).
More by Craig Cole
Comments
Join the conversation
A baby NSX would be fantastic. But heck, the enthusiast public would love a proper CRX or S2000 (or Prelude) replacement. Just thinking about those cars reminds me of how far Honda has gotten away from producing exciting vehicles over the years...
Why, exactly wouldn't this be a Prelude? I had the first gen (1979) and third (1988). I would line up to buy the 5th.