Now in its 44th Edition, the Tokyo Motorshow is regarded as one of the most highly-anticipated car shows in the region, if not the world. As with every iteration over the years, the show simply keeps getting better and better, and this year, Autofreaks was fortunate enough to score not one, but two invites to TMS!
One of the coolest things about the Honda display at this year’s TMS was the vehicle that BOTH the new NSX and Clarity Fuel-Cell cars were flanking. If you thought ‘new Civic Type-R’, as I probably would have if asked, well, we’d both be wrong. Taking centre-stage and nestled between two ‘giants’, was none other than the original Honda Cub! A restored original from 1958 (below), and likely on loan from the Honda Collection Centre (story on that treasure-trove coming soon).
The original Cub was Honda’s first attempt at providing a mobility solution for everyone, and in later years Honda even participated in the famed Isle of Man TT (not with a cub mind you) its roots can be traced back to this diminutive little cub-bike, thus it was fitting to have it front and centre, it full view of its successor actually, the Super Cub EV.
That being said, the aforementioned cars flanking it, the new NSX and Clarity Fuel-Cell as well as the new Civic Type-R and S660 Roadster were nothing to be sneezed at. It was no surprise at all that the NSX – an acronym for New Sports eXperince – was garnering the lion’s share of the shutter action.
In a word, it’s stunning. Utilizing a vertically-mounted, twin-turbo V6 direct engine and 3-motor hybrid system, it’s the long-awaited successor to the original NSX, a car that was originally developed with the help of the great Ayrton Senna.
In every carmaker’s stable there is ONE where the engineers and designers have pulled out all the stops and given free rein to create something that embodies everything they love about the automotive world, and in Honda’s case, it’s the NSX. You can even ‘feel’ the emotional difference this car makes when the President and CEO of the Honda Motor Corp. Japan was eulogizing about it on stage; “I enjoyed the fun and handling of this car, as if it were my own arms and legs!” Well, that’s a very nice way of putting forth the fact that the NSX becomes ‘part of you’ when you drive it, something I too distinctly remember when I drove the first-generation one in Japan more than a decade ago.
On the left of the original Honda Cub was Honda’s answer to sustainable-mobility without any reliance on fossil-fuels, the Honda Clarity FCV. Boasting a fuel-cell stack that’s 33% smaller than the original and yet producing 60% more power, the Clarity’s FC stack is now as compact as a V6 engine. Its 70MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage tank allows the Clarity to travel 700km between fill-ups, and it takes just 3-minuts to refuel it from empty.
It produces 177bhp from zero revs and seats 5 adults comfortably. Additionally, the Clarity has an option called the Power Exporter 9000 (above), which functions as a power-plant on wheels. When combined with the car, it is able to generate enough power for a household in times of disaster or crisis. Sales of the Clarity in Japan will begin in March 2016.
Flanking the stage and representing the stuff that fuel-laced-petrolhead pubescent boyhood dreams are made of, was the ultra-lustful new Civic Type-R. Just about everyone I’ve met wants one, and having finally seen it in the metal, I can understand why. This is one seriously desirable car. If mind-boggling Nurburgring times aren’t enough, it will simply astound you by the way it looks.
Everything about this car reeks ‘performance’. From the body-kit, to the massive alloys, the visible red calipers and humungous brake discs, to the race-bred interior, and bucket-seats, there’s nothing about this car that says normal or mundane. It’s the dog’s bollocks folks, and by Honda’s own admission, this is the “best Civic Type-R ever”.
Judging by the phenomenal reception it’s been getting globally, and the fact that its predecessor was brought in officially, it’s just a matter of time before it arrives here. Just don’t expect it to be anything less than RM300k. Then again…..
Another serious eye-catcher at the Honda stand was the S660 ‘Motorshow Special Collection’ painted a brilliant shade of matte grey replete with black racing stripes.
The S660 is quite the little performer and we managed to have a go behind the wheel at Tochigi, be sure to look out for that first-impression report coming soon!
Honda @ Tokyo Motorshow 2015 Photo Gallery…
