The Honda NSX will return as a supercar flagship for a 30-strong line-up of electric vehicles that Honda will launch as part of an ambitious £31 billion electrification strategy.
The supercar will be part of Honda's commitment to launching 30 new pure-electric vehicles globally as part of the strategy.
The Japanese firm has outlined its shift to electrification, pledging to achieve annual EV production volumes of more than two million units by 2030, ushering in solid-state battery technology and launching a pair of all-electric sports car flagships.
Honda aims to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050 but says "a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional approach" to electrification is needed, "not a mere replacing of engines with batteries".
To this end, it will allocate a portion of a committed eight trillion yen (£49bn) R&D budget to developing hydrogen powertrains and battery-swapping hardware as a means of facilitating the phase-out of combustion powertrains over the next 10 years. Some five trillion yen (£31bn) is reserved exclusively for "electrification and software technologies".
Honda has also given initial details of its rapid-fire global EV roll-out in the run-up to 2030, which most shockingly looks to include an all-electric successor to the Honda NSX supercar and a new grand tourer flagship.
"Honda always has a passion to offer fun for its customers," the firm said, giving no details of the new sports cars but promising they will continue to offer a "sports mindset and distinctive characteristics".
The Honda NSX is currently in its third generation as a 573bhp hybrid with a mid-mounted V6 and will bow out of production at the end of this year. This latest announcement is the first official indication that Honda plans to remain in the supercar segment as it transforms its business.
Honda is the latest Japanese brand to commit to offering dedicated sports cars in the electric era. Toyota has previewed a lightweight two-seater in the vein of the MR2, Lexus is working on an EV follow-up to the LFA, Nissan recently showed the drop-top Max Out concept and Subaru revealed a 1073bhp 4WD EV racer called the STI E-RA.
Meanwhile, in North America, Honda will launch two 'mid to large' electric SUVs in partnership with General Motors (one called the Honda Prologue and the other from its Acura premium brand) in 2024 and three years later will launch a range of 'affordable' EVs with "a cost and range that will be as competitive" as petrol-fuelled cars. Honda also plans to open a new EV factory in North America.
