Published October 15, 2012
By Jeff Cobb
The Beat will get its inspiration from the EV-STER Concept (pictured) that was shown at Tokyo in 2011. Questions about its powertrain options remain. Will a hybrid or all-electric option be in the mix?
Honda has confirmed it will launch a sporty car based on the also pending EV-STER and in question is will it offer electrified motive power.
The small sports car concepts are part of Honda’s efforts to bring more excitement and possibly frugality to its lineup.
Pictured above is the EV-STER, and we have little information at this point about the Beat, except that it will be produced, and the buzz has been that it might be since the EV-STER was shown last year at Tokyo.
Honda President Takanobu himself made the announcement saying the original Honda Beat captured his imagination a couple decades ago when he was working on the original Honda/Acura NSX sportscar flagship.
“When the Beat was being built, I was on the development team to work on the NSX sports car and sports cars are something I really love,” Ito said. “I was kind of envious of the little cute sports car.”
Some performance aficionados will surely hope the new Beat based on the EV-STER will be a smaller but fire-breathing car to go head-to-head with the likes of the Subaru BRZ or Scion FRS.
Honda has said its next generation NSX will be a hybrid, and it aims to re-take the hybrid market with a flurry of development across a few platforms and variations of hybrid powertrains, so will this new Beat with Fit underpinnings actually be made available as a hybrid or all-electric?
Time will tell.
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