Honda develops sharper Insight

Remember the Honda Insight? No? Let us refresh your memory -- it was a weird looking contraption (seemingly inspired by George Jetson) that also happened to be the first hybrid offered for sale on the Australian market.

The ungainly Insight (with awkward fared-in rear wheels) hardly prompted a stampede to Honda showrooms, but that hasn't deterred the Japanese carmaker from having a renewed crack at the genre. That's right, a modern-day Insight is in Honda's product pipeline, and the car in question will be previewed by the Small Hybrid Sports Concept, due to take its bow at March's Geneva motor show.

For now, Honda has released only this teaser sketch, which provides a general indication of how the design study will look. A quick glance at the rendering is sufficient to conclude that there'll be no Insight-esque styling gaffes this time around.

The concept appears beautifully proportioned, drawing inspiration from the Acura Advanced Sports Car prototype that starred at last month's Detroit motor show.

Not surprisingly, unlike the Insight and Civic hybrids, the Small Hybrid Sports Concept was designed in Europe, at Honda's Offenbach European R&D headquarters.

Honda CEO Takeo Fukui recently confirmed in an interview with Newsweek that the company is developing an all-new small hybrid car that he described as a five-passenger version of the quirky Insight. And rather than being a niche product, Fukui says the all-new hybrid will be aimed at mainstream car buyers when it launches in two or three years.

"Hybrid technology is very strong and proven technology for improving fuel economy," Fukui said. "And we won't relent in our efforts."

Some sources suggest the new hybrid is effectively Honda's riposte to Toyota's second-generation Prius, which has been a huge seller in the USA.

Like the Insight, the next-generation hybrid will be offered only as a petrol-electric car, rather than being a spin-off version of a conventionally powered model (such as the Civic Hybrid).

"We can envision something close to the Insight with five-passenger capacity and a relatively low price for mass-market consumers," revealed Fukui.

It's believed the new hybrid won't be too much bigger than the Jazz, and it's possible entry pricing could dip below the $20K mark, which means it stands to be the cheapest hybrid on the market.