The Tokyo Motor Show is about to kick off, and Honda is first to the gates with a retro-modern concept. The Sustaina-C looks like a modern Honda City, and it was even revealed with a new bike, the Honda Pocket, which may or may not be foldable. Could it be the next City and Motocompo duo?
There are so many nifty styling cues that evoke the original Honda City. Slightly recessed round headlights flank a horizontal grille. Massive black bumpers dominate the front and rear. On the Sustaina-C, they cleverly wrap around circular wheel arches to create the squared-off fender wells of the original. The door guards seem to have been reimagined as decal graphic, and the blue graphic on the Susatina-C’s hood seems to recall the power bulge of the City Turbo II.
Paired with the Sustaina-C is a little bike called the Pocket. It seems that the handlebars might be able to fold down, like the old Motocompo trunk bike. Details have been very light, as Honda will likely wait till the show itself to provide more.
The biennial Tokyo Motor Show has been rebranded after a pandemic-related cancellation in 2021. Now it’s called the Tokyo Mobility Show. With the new name, the focus more on whatever the future of automobiles might be. As such, the Sustaina-C and Pocket are electric, natch, and engineered to be frugal with resources. Both are made of an acrylic resin that can be recycled and reused.
If we had to guess, neither the Sustaina-C or Pocket will reach production. They’re likely just a study to explore use of the resin, and Honda is using the shape of an iconic hot hatch to draw attention to it. For a bike you can get the new Motocompacto, but we wouldn’t hold our breaths for the car.
The world’s worst communication photos… and to be honest the CMF (the colour and material finish) choice is aweful. Do Honda not see this or are they deliberately not interested in getting positive feedback?