NAIAS: Accord Coupe Concept

Get this straight: with the exception of perpetual NSX foreplay, Honda doesn’t do “concepts”. Their concept cars are usually production vehicles with tinted windows. So it is with the new Accord Coupe “Concept”. The current Accord has come in for more criticism than any Accord in history… so what’s changed?

Edited to include more shots that show the evolutionary link between the current Coupe and the new one.

Let’s start with SHOCKING MECHANICAL NEWS! Honda, a company so conservative at times that it was selling the majority of its production vehicle with carburetors long after General Motors had fuel-injected the freakin’ Iron Duke, has finally put six-speed automatic transmissions in the Accord. It’s anybody’s guess as to whether production models will have a nifty little retro “6-speed” badge under the right rear taillamp.

Oh, wait. Turns out it’s just the V-6 that gets a six-speed. Four-cylinder models get a CVT. That four-cylinder is the new EarthDreams 2.4 direct-injected model, putting out 181hp and 177 lb-ft. The new V-6 will also make more power, but Honda didn’t say how much more.

On the now-mandatory hybrid side of things, the Accord Hybrid has finally ditched the old IMA system for a proper two-motor setup that will allow the Accord to run in full electric mode. Range in said mode is quoted at a serious-business 10-15 miles. And it’s a plug-in, with full recharge in four hours at 120v and 1.5 hours at 240v.

Standard tech includes Bluetooth across the range and a rearview camera, a color LCD display, and a Pandora interface. Optional: lane assist.

We will be partnering with Speed:Sport:Life to bring you a full Accord Coupe gallery later in the day.