I was in Japan last week to learn about how Honda’s upcoming “0 Series” EVs have been shaping up. One of the first things I noticed pulling into the company’s R&D facility in Tochigi was this Accord-bodied prototype and how downright sick it looks.
Honda had two prototypes on hand for this event, one wearing the body of a CR-V and this short-body Accord. Each journalist present only had time to drive one of these two and, despite my hopes for the contrary, I was assigned the CR-V. Still, I don’t need to drive it to tell you the 0 Series prototype Accord looks the absolute business.
In my view, the Accord sold on our shores hasn’t been genuinely good-looking since, like, 2015. What the last couple generations of Honda’s midsize sedan gained in overall length, it lost in aesthetic grace. Here’s what it currently looks like:
Shorten it up, paint it black, punch up the fenders (that presumably accommodate the 0 Series’ wider tracks), slap on the wheels off of the Acura MDX Type S, and the Accord suddenly becomes one of the snazziest-looking sedans in recent memory. Shove the old 3.5-liter V6 in there and it could be the Accord Type R from a brighter timeline. As a connoisseur of compact-ish, sporty-ish, mature-looking sedans, I would absolutely buy that car as long as it didn’t cost a bajillion dollars.
I mean, just look at it:
The aggressive front fenders that flow into the “cheeks” of the front fascia give it a very sporty, almost muscle car-esque appearance. Big wheels fill out those fenders beautifully while a much smaller rear overhang gives it much better proportions than the actual, production Accord.
For your viewing pleasure, here’s a mega-gallery of the greatest Accord that never was.
Got a tip or question for the author about the shorty Accord? You can reach him here: chris.tsui@thedrive.com