This official sketch...

This official sketch is of its latest petrol/electric prototype, the Small Hybrid Sports Concept. Designed to take on the Toyota FT-HS, unveiled at last month"s Detroit expo, the sports model signals the brand"s intent to bring a hot hybrid to market.

Penned by Honda"s European research and development division in Offenbach, Gerч­many, the car has a similar stance to its Toyota rival, and shares styling cues with Acura"s recently revealed NSX successor.

The front end will resemble Honda"s FCX concept, which will also be on display at the Swiss event. The SHSC is set to feature the latest lithium-ion batteries coupled to an ultra-efficient petrol engine, highlighting the performance potential of hybrids. Full details of the car and its likely production schedule will be revealed at Geneva.

Meanwhile, Honda is also focusing on its green production model, as growing interest in environmentally friendly cars is expecч­ted to boost sales of the Civic Hybrid by more than 400 per cent this year.

Additional stocks of the petrol-electric variant have been ordered for UK showrooms after main dealers reported higher than antic-ipated demand for the 61.4mpg saloon.

"The initial 500 cars sold out well before Christmas. We"re increasing the supply to 2,500 from May, because we expect interest to continue rising," said Honda UK environmental manager John Kingston. The Metroч­politan police force is among customers for the чЈ16,300 hybrid, which covers 0-62mph in 12.1 seconds and goes on to 115mph.