The Honda Type R performance badge could eventually be applied to EVs, Ko Yamamoto, a technical advisor to the automaker, said in a recently published interview with Autocar.
Those EVs will have to be worthy of the Type R badge, providing the same enjoyable driving experience as traditional Type R models, Yamamoto said.
2023 Honda Civic Type R sets 'Ring record
"The Type R is an attribute that maximizes the pleasure of driving and operation," Yamamoto said. "If that pleasure can be transported with an electric car, then that car could be called a Type R."
Yamamoto also ruled out Type R versions of current Honda gasoline models such as the CR-V and HR-V, meaning the current Civic Type R, introduced for the 2023 model year, will be the only car to wear the Type R badge for now.
The Honda E and e:Ny1 EVs sold overseas won't get Type R performance variants either, Yamamoto said, but Honda has plenty of other EVs in development.
2024 Honda Prologue
Honda said last year that it plans to launch 30 EVs globally by 2030. Some will reach the U.S., starting with the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX crossovers due in 2024. Both are based on General Motors' Ultium component set, and will be manufactured by GM, but Honda plans to follow them up with EVs based on its own architecture in 2025. The first of those models will also be a crossover.
Honda is also planning a line of affordable EVs based on an additional platform co-developed with GM, and is collaborating with Sony on the new EV brand Afeela.