Latest Honda Element Revealed in Patent Application

If recent patent filings are any indication, the quirky Honda Element crossover may be making a comeback.

First spotted by Car and Driver, a recent patent application filed by Honda with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) shows what looks very much like a new version of the Element, which was discontinued after the 2011 model year.

The patent application was filed in 2022 and published on June 27. It relates to a camper attachment that latches to the rear and top of the vehicle and has an extension that extends the available enclosed space to the ground. The vehicle used to illustrate this feature clearly resembles the Element.

The camper attachment illustration shows a boxy crossover with a small rear door that appears to be rear-hinged like the rear door of an extended cab pickup truck. Rear hinged doors were one of the features of the Element, which was introduced in 2003 and was not redesigned before production ended. The door glass arches upward toward the sides of the roof, which also seems to be a callback to the Element.

The new Honda Element is far from a sure thing, be it a crossover or a pickup.

Automakers do not produce everything they patent, and patent images often include vehicles that are not intended to resemble production models. However, looking at the current array of small crossover and crossover-like vehicles, including boxy designs like the Nissan Kicks and Kia Soul that mimic the Element's distinctive shape, a modern version of Honda's millennial crossover would seem to work.