Honda's Future EVs Will Simulate S2000, NSX, and HondaJet Sounds
Honda's EVs to Feature Sounds of Past IconsHonda
Honda shared a spread of new details about its future EV plans at its 0 Tech Meeting 2024 event last week, but one bit of tech in particular has caught the attention of enthusiasts. While showcasing the Honda e Digital UX Concept, the automaker revealed a feature that will allow future Honda electric vehicles to simulate the characteristics of some of the brand's most iconic machines.
The Honda e Digital UX Concept on display at the event featured a unique toggle screen in the infotainment system, according to The Drive. This layout allows drivers to select a theme tied to some of the brand's most celebrated vehicles, including both generations of the NSX, the Civic Type R, and the S2000. For the die-hard Honda heads, the brand also included a profile for the HondaJet private airplane. These themes augment the vehicle's display to mirror the one found in the selected model, similar to the vintage gauge cluster offerings Ford has for the S650 Mustang. Of course, the fun doesn't actually stop there, as the car will even simulate that specific model's engine note.
Take the virtual S2000's F20C engine past 6000 rpm and you're even greeted with the familiar howl of VTEC. Honda will also use vibrations in the cabin to help simulate the experience of a combustion engine, which should help sell the whole bit. Hyundai has had great success with the fake engine sounds in the Ioniq 5 N, which are more convincing than expected in practice.
honda series 0 saloon concept ces 2024
The Concept also showed images of a CRX and a Honda F1 car, but they were locked away for the time being. A Honda engineer on-site stated that certain models would only be offered to customers as paid content. The Forza Car Pass system is coming to our real cars it seems.
In order to make use of those various engine sounds, Honda will also mirror Hyundai's approach via simulated gearing controlled by wheel-mounted paddles. The Drive notes that Honda has toyed with the idea of further simulating those previous driving experiences via the adjustable input weights on the by-wire steering setup, revised pedal mapping, and variable ride height suspension. The system is still under development for the time being, and has room to grow before reaching the public. That said, if Honda is able to pull off something close to what Hyundai has done thus far, it might just have a winning bit of tech in hand.
