Honda E-VN - New All-electric Concept Car From Honda

(This is an abridged version of an article taken from Top Gear Magazine, Jan 2010 issue. For educational purposes only)


This is the EV-N, Honda's answer to our impending electrical age. It's still officially a concept but it ticks a lot of right boxes.

For a start, it looks great with a lot of reference to the firm's first crack at going micro, the N360, which was similarly radical back in the 1960's with its tiny 360cc engine and compact layout.

Like its forebear, the EV-N is all bluff ends and abrupt angels, no-nonsense design for maximum internal space, minimal footprint and low-cost production.

The battery-powered all-electric drivetrain presents obvious range problems, and Honda's solution here is the inclusion of solar cells, embedded into a transparent roof, that will charge the battery over time and top it up on the move.

An even more ingenious idea is the addition of a personal mobility device, integrated into the door of EV-N. Pinching technology from Honda's ASIMO robot, the U3-X is a sort of wheelchair-cum-bar stool that can be steered through 360 degrees by the subtlest incline from its unimaginably lazy pilot. Weighing 10kg and folding largely flat, the theory is that you can store it in the office or at home, saving the distress of actually walking to your car.

The gadgetry doesn't end there either. The EV-N is being used to roll out Honda's LOOP technology, which is a grand scheme to link man and machine across their entire range of product. In this instance, you get a key fob with an LCD screen. This device will tell you all sorts of info, such as how much battery life you have in your EV-N, or where you left it in the multi-storey parking lot.