Honda continues to tease us with the prospect of a revival of the iconic Hornet, with the latest coming in the reveal of new concept art from Honda’s Italian R&D centre.
The design concept is the latest collaboration between Honda’s R&D centres in Italy and Japan.
Following the news at EICMA 2021 that the Hornet name will be returning to its line-up, Honda has today released sketches that give further details of the design concept, showcasing the combination of technical beauty and aggression that run through its DNA.
Creation of the concept sketches was led by Honda’s R&D Centre in Rome, which, in close collaboration with R&D in Japan, is already responsible for the visuals of some of Honda’s recent successful models, including the CRF1100L Africa Twin, CB650R and X-ADV,
The designer for the new Hornet concept is 28-year-old Giovanni Dovis, who most recently penned the distinctive lines of the new ADV350.
“Honda’s design philosophy is to create something pure and functional in an uncomplicated way – models which are both beautifully simple and emotionally appealing,” explains Dovis.
“The sketches show how the Hornet design concept promises agility, dynamism and lightweight thanks to its slim proportions, pointy tail section and super-sharp lines. It creates a new compactly proportioned look, and has hallmarks of tension and aggression from front to back, outlining the Hornet’s true sporting purpose.”
While it is still very early days, the release of the official design sketch by Honda bodes well for the return of the Hornet to showrooms. While traditionally a 600cc inline-4, we could see Honda move to a larger displacement engine with fewer cylinders in line with current super naked models.
The silhouette does look awfully a lot like a certain scalpel from Europe’s biggest manufacturer, so Honda could be looking to rain on KTM’s parade here with a Japanese alternative to the European dominance in the sector.
With the usual time for a model to move through the development phase sitting around four years, we could see this new Hornet hitting dealers by 2025.