Do we live in a universe where an electric vehicle could be worthy of Honda’s iconic “Type R” badge? The Japanese automaker is wrestling with that question internally right now. The deciding factor is if Honda’s engineers can figure out a way to bring the Type R’s soul to an electric vehicle.

In an interview with Auto Express (via Motor1), the head of Honda’s Japanese BEV Development Center Toshihiro Akiwa, explained why Honda can’t just slap a Type R badge on an EV and call it a day. “A battery and motor have different characteristics so we can’t come up with something exactly the same as before,” said Akiwa. “As an EV, how can we provide the joy of driving? We haven’t given up of course, but it’s not just about power, it’s about the sound, vibration, acceleration and the human experience. These are the joys of driving.”

Aikwa-san isn’t wrong. It takes more than horsepower and torque to provide that visceral experience we feel when behind the wheel of a performance car. We note that some folks will disagree with that notion, but a significant portion of the performance car buying audience does agree and that’s the conundrum.

This isn’t just a Type R issue either. You may remember the Acura Electric Vision Study Design Concept from 2023. A car that many—including us—speculate could evolve into the next Acura NSX. So, the challenge is actually two-fold. Lucky for Honda and Acura they have successful examples to follow.

In the case of the Type R, Honda need only look at the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N for inspiration. The Ioniq 5 N clearly demonstrates that a performance EV can be fun. On paper the synthetic sounds and gear shifts seem like ridiculous gimmicks, but in practice they actually do a fairly good job of bringing that visceral feel despite having no actual rumbling combustion engine and whirring transmission.

The NSX team could look to electric hypercars like the Rimac Nevera. We don’t think the electric Acura NSX will have anywhere near the performance numbers—or price—of the Nevera, but it could serve as a great benchmark and example of how to keep things exciting despite the lack of engine noise.

One thing is for sure is that Honda won’t build an electric Type R unless it believes what it comes up with is worthy of the name. So, if the automaker doesn’t crack the code, the Type R badge may die with combustion engines. For the sake of Honda-heads everywhere, we hope they figure it out.