Honda is busy with the Prelude.
The product planners are head-deep in development. Meanwhile? Someone remembered the CRX.
The internet is obsessed. Not because it’s real. But because it’s exactly the kind of sharp, compact coupe Honda should be making but isn’t. It’s a digital concept. A “what if.” And it hits harder than anything in Honda’s current lineup.
Not AI. Just Taste.
Meet Vitaly Batalka. He’s a designer and modeler. He built the car. Valentin Komkov is a CG artist. He made it look real.
They didn’t use generative AI. They used old-school workflows. Alias for modeling. Blender for viz. Traditional digital sculpting. You can feel the human hand in it. The reference? Second-gen CRX. The one from ’87 to ’91. Built on a shrunken Civic platform. It was tiny. It was fast. It was fun.
That memory lingers.
“Projects like this keep the idea alive.”
But the math changes every year.
Same Silhouette. New Guts.
They kept the bones.
Short wheelbase. Low roof. The split rear window—that specific profile that defines the original’s soul. But the front? Modernized.
No more blocky sealed-beam lights. Those are gone. Replaced by slim LEDs flanking a nose without a grille. Just a badge. The new Honda wing sits centered on a clean sheet metal face.
The sculpted hood nods to the past. Black bumper trim too. Then you move to the side. Clean lines. Tonally flat fenders. Flush handles. Frameless doors. Black pillars.
And the wheels.
Bi-tone alloys that look like they belong on a jet, not a commuter car.
The “Turbo” Fantasy
It doesn’t end there.
They made a retro “collector card.” For a hypothetical “Turbo 2026” model. Fictional specs, sure. But read the numbers.
It’s an EV. Fully electric.
350 horsepower. A top speed of 177 mph (285 km/h).
Does that number feel optimistic? Yeah. It probably does. It’s wild. But compared to the 1.6L VTEC from ’89? It leaves it in the dust. No hybrid droning here. Just instant torque in a small package.
Why isn’t this happening?
Honda tried before.
Remember the CR-Z?
It launched in 2010. A three-door hatchback. Hybrid powertrain. Kinda sporty. Mostly not. They killed it in 2016. No replacement. Just silence.
The Market Doesn’t Care.
That’s the tragedy.
The math doesn’t work anymore. Honda has little incentive to spend millions developing a small, three-door sports coupe. The world wants trucks. SUVs. Safe bets.
The CRX was a gamble on joy.
We built this digital ghost because Honda won’t touch it.
We stared at it for an hour.
It’s a shame.
“The nearest thing Honda built to a CRX… was discontinued.”
Who else is keeping this alive?
Who cares?
The concept stands on its own.
Perfect proportions. Impossible car.
Gone.
