Honda Sports Ute Concept by Daniel Pearson is so Wrong that it Could be Right

In most places around the world, the words "sports" and "utility vehicle" don't make much sense together.

However, there are some exceptions, notably Australia, which through Ford's local division gave birth to the coupe utility category in the early 1930s and continues to be represented to this day by the Ford and Holden Utes, and of course, North America, with its most famous model being the Chevrolet El Camino.

To put it simple, a Coupe Utility vehicle is a passenger car model with two doors and an open cargo bed, the purpose being to bond (...or compromise) two different worlds into one automobile.

A Coupe Utility is what Daniel Pearson, a third year design student from the UK, had in mind for his Honda project aptly named the "Sports Ute". The two seater study was designed to be 4.7 meters long (185 inches) riding on a lengthy 3,025mm (119.1 inches) wheelbase, all while looking like it belongs to the same family of cars as the NSX.

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Honda Teases New Civic Station Wagon and Shows New Civic 1.6L Diesel in Paris

Honda appears to be full of surprises these days. Just last week, the Japanese automaker's CEO confirmed the development of several cars including a Civic Type R hot hatch for Europe, a new Jazz / Fit supermini that will also spawn an SUV derivative, and a 'sporty' roadster.

Today, Honda's European President Manabu Nishimae revealed plans to add a new model to the carmaker's range during his Paris Motor Show press conference.

The vehicle announced today is a new derivative of Honda's European Civic in the form of a station wagon model. Honda went one step further and released a teaser image of the pre-production concept that will be shown next year, most likely at the Geneva Salon in March or the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

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Breaking: Honda Confirms New Civic Type R, Jazz / Fit Based Small SUV and Sports Roadster

There's a whole lot of news - but unfortunately, no pictures, coming out today from Honda's headquarters in Japan where the company's CEO Takanobu Ito outlined the product, technology and business developments through 2015.

We are going to start with the new Honda Civic Type R sports hatchback based on the European market model that is currently undergoing development for an introduction in 2015.

Honda said that this model is designed specifically for the European market, though we could see it being exported to Japan at some point. More importantly, the Japanese carmaker's CEO stated that the Type R is being developed "with the goal of becoming the fastest front-wheel-drive vehicle on the Nürburgring race course".

On a more global note, Ito said that Honda will roll out an all-new replacement for the Fit, also known as the Jazz in Europe, in 2013. Within two years after the initial market presentation, the Japanese automaker will launch a small SUV model based on the underpinnings of the new Fit/Jazz as well as a replacement for the related City small sedan.

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