Yamaha shows two-seater sports car in Tokyo.
Yamaha Sports Ride Concept debuts – Could the Yamaha four-wheeler be the basis of a future move into car production for the motorcycle brand?One of the head turning new concepts unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show was the Yamaha Sports Ride Concept.
Developed with the help of South African engineer Gordon Murray, who is the man behind several dominant Formula One cars and the legendary McLaren F1 supercar, the Yamaha Sports Ride Concept vehicle is a lightweight 750kg four-wheeler with a carbon-fibre chassis.
The vehicle is designed to be constructed using Gordon’s latest innovative production process –
iStream Carbon – a process that makes high volume carbon-fibre chassis production affordable and brings Formula One materials and technology within reach of the everyday motorist.
The process is also supposed to make it easier for companies to venture into car manufacturing.
It’s not Gordon’s first venture with Yamaha, two years ago Yamaha revealed the Motiv city in Tokyo. This one is close to the size of a Mazda MX-5, just little shorter and narrower, with the looks of a mini McLaren.
The interior is plush and befitting a luxury sports car. It reportedly has an engine up front and rear wheel drive, but there was no information about the engine, only speculation.
There’s also questions about where the project could head. Will Yamaha run with the concept under its own banner? Are we seeing the basis for a new model from another car manufacturer, the Toyota MR2 for example?
Or is it all just an exercise in showing what can be done? Watch this space.