By Steve Laser
The Honda Dualnote would look right at home on the streets of 2026, had the automaker decided to build it. Remarkably, this four-seat, four-door, mid-engine hybrid sports car was introduced as a concept … 25 years ago!
This story takes a quick look back at our visit to the 35th Tokyo Motor Show, where we attended the press days, Oct. 24-25, 2001, at Makuhari Messe in Chiba. Shown above is the Honda exhibit, with the Dualnote taking center stage at Honda’s press conference.
Dualnote delivered a very sleek design with a Space Magic theme. It looked like a sports car, featured a 112.9 in. wheelbase, 172.8 in. overall length, 72.0 in. width, and 47.8 in. height. So while the dimensions (except for the longer wheelbase) were similar to a contemporary era NSX, Honda managed to add two more doors and two rear seats.
Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system combined a 3.5-liter i-VTEC engine with electric motor assist. With two additional front-drive motors, total system output was estimated at 400 horsepower. Also included was an Active Torque Transfer System (ATTS), to assist cornering, and Vehicle Stability Assist, to help reduce side slip.
This video, from the CarNichiWa.com YouTube channel, offers a compilation of Honda Dualnote concept photos that we made during press days at the 35th Tokyo Motor Show.
Inside, Dualnote featured an IT-style instrument panel, along with interactive voice recognition technology said to be jointly developed by Honda and NTT. The center multi-function display was designed to show things like phone and vehicle information, e-mail, driving mode, and a navigation screen.
While the Dualnote concept did not become a production model, Honda continued to develop powerful and efficient IMA Hybrid systems along with other technologies.
Photos 2001 by Steve Laser on location in Chiba, Japan
Story (commentary) 2026 CarNichiWa.com