Honda's stunning new '0 Series' concepts preview the future... by looking back at the past

Honda wants to build cars that transcend such pesky concepts as time and space. So, welcome to the time-travelling cars of tomorrow, revealed yesterday! Meet the Honda '0' Series of EVs which definitely don't sound like Skynet's first tentative steps to world domination.

They're Honda's attempts to build cars for its electrified future "by going back to the starting point of Honda as an automaker and creating completely new EVs from zero". The one that looks like a shooting brake is weirdly called 'Saloon', while the one which looks like a Moon-based delivery truck goes by the moniker of 'Space-Hub'.

The not-a-Saloon will play the flagship role in the 0 Series and on first impressions... it looks rather excellent. Out front, the thin headlight design is reminiscent of the new Lamborghini Countach, and positioned below is a rectangular bar whose outer edges sport a blue multi-box light. The central section sports a revamped ‘H’ badge and a cluster of blue nebulas. It’s pretty striking.

The silhouette then slopes across a curved windscreen and levels out as it approaches the rear, where a similar multi-box design to the front can be seen. Though, the blue has been ditched for red, and complemented by a thin vertical lamp lower down. 

Making your way towards the flared rear arches, the side angle really highlights the length of the Saloon, while further Lamborghini-esque cues can be spotted. Anyone else seeing Gallardo in those front three-quarters? That bulbous rear remind you of anything Diablo-shaped? Credit where it’s due, if you’re going to nick a design you may as well do it from Sant'Agata Bolognese’s finest.

In the sole interior image provided, the clutter-free look is fronted by a yoke steering wheel, while the ‘nebulas’ from the exterior front also run along the dashboard. The front seat headrests appear to have touchpads incorporated into them, which should make it very easy for your children to annoy you by selecting Taylor Swift’s latest break-up song on max volume.

Full technical details are still under wraps, but Honda has said the Saloon will feature an intelligent instrument panel with a human-machine interface. Posture control and a motion management system will be added thanks to a portion of Honda’s budget going towards robotics.

Level 3 automated driving has also been quoted, while Honda says it will aim to cut the average vehicle charge time from 15 to 80 per cent down to “10-15 minutes” and reduce battery degradation to below 10 per cent after 10 years of use. We’ve definitely not heard that from any manufacturer before.

Even fewer details are provided about the Space-Hub, though Honda has said the spacious and adaptable cabin will provide “excellent visibility”. Surely a more rousing point to introduce a swanky new car exists. 

That said, it does look quite fantastic inside. Two rows of seats are positioned in front of one another with plenty of space between them, while blue lighting runs along the sides to complement what could either be used as parcel shelves or seating for people with very small bottoms. 

Its party piece is the panoramic roof, which runs the entire length of the car and is broken into sections. Sadly, while the image does sell you a dream with the starry night sky, Londoners probably won’t enjoy the same level of romanticism along the A406.

The roadmap to launching the 0 Series will begin with its North American debut in 2026, followed by Japan and then the rest of Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and finally, South America. We find it surprising Antarctica isn’t mentioned - surely there’s plenty of scope for market share over there?

The goal is for the 0 Series to be the first major step towards Honda’s plan to become an entirely carbon-neutral brand by 2050, or yesterday if you're trying to transcend the concepts of time and space.