Honda Super EV Concept Up Close And In Person At Goodwood

Honda has brought some very interesting hardware to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year. But lurking between every generation of Civic Type-R, and the championship-winning 1986 Williams Honda F1 car is something small, mysterious, and that has our full attention. It’s called the Super EV concept, and Honda isn’t saying much about it.

The little electric has already been getting real-world testing in the UK, complete with that quirky and delightful purple camouflage. Honda wants to bring it to market around the world, and it could make the perfect replacement for the already-missed Honda e. One that might be a lot easier to sell than that tech-heavy electric. Now we’ve finally gotten up close and personal with the Super Honda.

Super EV’s First In-Person Appearance

Our first look at the Super EV came a month ago. Honda launched a teaser campaign for the vehicles it planned to bring to Goodwood, and while the robot lawnmower and the production Prelude were neat, it was the tiny purple box in front of the Palace of Westminster that really grabbed our eyeballs.

Yes, it’s just another tiny electric city car. There’s only so much an automaker can do with that footprint, but somehow Honda has given this a load of character. Even though we can’t even really see the bodywork, this little car screams fun. Well, more like shouts fun quietly but adorably.

Honda called it an “all-electric urban concept vehicle.” Now it is saying the car “realizes both practical usability and the ‘joy of driving’ only Honda can offer.”

Related

Future Honda Models Worth Waiting For

These Hondas will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Check out those TE37s. This is proof positive that the design works on anything, at least anything built after about 1975. They’re a 16-inch size, which is delightfully compact. No, we don’t think a production car will use this wheel, but we can dream, right?

Funky Design, Affordable Features

Up close, the Super EV looks just as adorable and funky as it did in Honda’s shots. We can see more of it now, too, including just how boxy those arches are, the cuts in the doorlines, and the Honda badge in the nose. Honda is hiding the interior away from us, sadly, but that’s probably because it’s an early prototype.

Honda’s also hiding many of the details, but we did manage to get them to admit it’s front-wheel drive with a single electric motor, will be a direct successor to the Honda e, and will be far more affordable. Things like the conventional door mirrors are key in achieving that affordable price point, although the exact figure Honda is targeting is still a secret.

Why does Honda think this one could work when the Honda e couldn’t? This car looks like it will be more cost-effective than the e. While that other Honda was another adorable electric, it was loaded with high-tech and expensive goodies. Cameras instead of side mirrors, for example, and screens that ran from pillar to pillar inside the cabin. And yes, those are rear drum brakes. On a car this size, it doesn’t matter. Regen does most of the work, and drums are cheaper. Even some Audi EV models that cost tens of thousands more have rear drums for exactly those reasons.

Related

2025 Goodwood Festival Of Speed: Live Updates From The Hill

We have boots on the ground and are covering all the major debuts and happening for the iconic annual hillclimb.

This design would be a stark contrast to the 0 Series models, the first of which was also on display. But those EVs are more upmarket, while the A-segment tends to keep to cheap and cheerful. Models like the Fiat 500e, Renault Twingo, and Volkswagen Up! Build it or not, and come to America or not, it’s Honda’s commitment to enjoyable and fun-driving cars, even when they’re tiny and electric, that might have the most meaning here. That’s been a key part of what makes Honda Honda since it first hit the market decades ago.