Tokyo Preview: Honda EV-N concept is retro-adorable, has unicycle storage
by Alex Nunez on Sep 30th 2009 at 12:18AM 
Honda EV-N Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery
When the curtain rises on the Tokyo Motor Show next month, Honda's green-themed display will include what it calls the HELLO! Zone, a showcase for electric vehicles. Why "HELLO! Zone"? Well, we have no idea, other than it reminds us of a certain feline and that the Japanese clearly have a thing for all-caps names and exclamation points. In the HELLO! Zone, showgoers can say, uh, "hello" to the excruciatingly neat, relentlessly cute EV-N concept. It's a retro-styled battery-powered car with a face of a pug puppy crossed with a Trabant and nifty concept-y features like swappable seat fabrics, a solar roof, and a "communications system" embedded in the black front fascia. Most importantly, however, the EV-N's passenger door contains one of those bizarrely kickass UX-3 super gyroscopic robot unicycles, which pretty much makes the EV-N the coolest electric car of all time. We think. Anyhow, when Honda unveils an ASIMO that can both drive the EV-N and then self-deploy on the UX-3, it's time to go hide under your beds, because that'll be the signal that their robot army is ready for world domination. But we digress. Check out the high-res pics of the EV-N in the gallery below.
Gallery: 2009 Honda EV-N Concept
[Source: Honda]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
thomas 1:15AM (9/30/2009)
thats kinda cool looking. front ends a little simp....... DID YOU SAY UNICYCLE?!?!??!
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James 2:47AM (9/30/2009)
This EV-N is a retro take of one of those kei sized air-cooled '67-72 era Honda N360/N600...the N600 was essentially the first Honda car model officially imported to the US.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f5/HondaN360.jpg/800px-HondaN360.jpg
Cute and smart take on an iconic Honda..now fitted for electric duty.
geo.stewart 7:24AM (9/30/2009)
honda did this, sort of, years ago when they did the honda ?city? or something. in the trunk was a foldup minibike. park your car 2 miles away and putput in on a foldable bike that stored under your desk.
of course the unicycle with butt wings has a higher cool factor.
Joe 10:49AM (9/30/2009)
Wow - it's actually a "Honda" and not some mess that looks like the jr. high design students clay mold from "1999's vision of 2019" got painted...
Oh and I'll take a pair of "butt wings" too please lmao!!
AutoCritical 7:17AM (10/12/2009)
A cheeky car that boasts a lifestyle change to your transportation needs? Check out the seats. Although they are interchangeable they may not be as good for safety.... Would people even change them? The smart car has interchangeable panels, but not many people actually change them... It looks good, with the theme fitting both the exterior and interior, nothing worse than not feeling like driving a car that looks like how it does on the outside...
This could be a new iconic car! http://bit.ly/sMBB5
Satn 1:38AM (9/30/2009)
WANT! GIVE! *garbled elation*
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Kaveh 1:41AM (9/30/2009)
Looks kinda cool, like a 70's Honda City, and the little unicycle reminds me of the 80's Honda city that had a min bike in the back for there show car.
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Temple 10:33AM (9/30/2009)
It's a retro-throw back to the Honda "N" microcars. Such as the N360, N600, and the sportier Z600.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_N360
I hope Honda puts an internal combustion engine inside this thing and sells this in the US. Priced right, this thing will stand is good competition for the Smart.
fmwso 1:47AM (9/30/2009)
Yes, it's nice. Better than the latest offerings from Honda. Cough *Crossroad* cough.
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Taglane 2:07AM (9/30/2009)
lol. it's crosstour, but I understand. too unimportant to give a damn about.
Dustin 1:54AM (9/30/2009)
Neo Mr. Bean Car!!
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stealthebeatles 2:08AM (9/30/2009)
It's kind of ugly, but I find myself wanting to pat it on the head and reassure it. I think I like it.
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gotsmart 2:14AM (9/30/2009)
I love it... it gets Honda back to its roots, which they seem to have forgotten as of late.
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ugg.tryptophan 10:20AM (9/30/2009)
yes!
James 2:18AM (9/30/2009)
This is absolutely adorable. I want one too!
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Taglane 3:15AM (9/30/2009)
Best looking Honda of the decade lol (jk.accord coupe is). I liked the retro hondas of the 60's. good to see them with this.
Can we get it for production now? lol
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rodrigo 3:49AM (9/30/2009)
eyes wide open on this car......
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PercyPricksworth 4:25AM (9/30/2009)
Hmm, reminds me of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAR5uTEXMTM
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This Man. 5:08AM (9/30/2009)
I see Honda N600. I knew what it was supposed to be reminiscent of right away.
http://img2.netcarshow.com/Honda-N600_1967_800x600_wallpaper_03.jpg
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carcomptoy 5:36AM (9/30/2009)
Does anyone else see the Fiat 500 in this design a little, except obviously a bit boxier?
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