Releasing concept cars without performance specs seems to be the theme at this 2015 Tokyo Motor Show (cough*Mazda*cough.) Although Yamaha unveiled its revolutionary new sports auto concept earlier today ( October 27, 2015) little in the form of hard data was unveiled.
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Unlike the Motiv.e concept, the Sports Ride uses carbon panels instead of glassfibre ones, with Yamaha wanting to create a sports auto that will offer the same kind of excitement with a motorcycle.
Yamaha’s latest machine has four wheels, but it’s definitely not an ATV.
Yamaha hasn’t mentioned anything about the powertrain, but the carmaker is expected to pack an updated version of the 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine that was employed by its city vehicle concept, the Yamaha Motiv – this was shown in Tokyo back in 2013.
The Sports Ride looks like an expensive supercar that shrunk in the wash.
What has McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray been up to these days? It has been developed in conjunction with Japanese firm Toray and you get to see a honeycomb paper core with two carbonfibre skins, which makes things even more interesting.
The compact low-riding sportscar measures 3,700 mm in length, 1,720 mm wide, 1,170 mm high.
And as you’d expect of any vehicle with Murray’s name attached to it, the Yamaha Sports Ride goes to new extremes in terms of weight savings, pushing the adage, “Think Light” to its limits.
What makes the Sports Ride more exciting than the usual outlandish concepts that manufacturers usually trot out at such shows is that it, at the very least, suggests that Yamaha is experimenting with the idea of re-entering the auto industry in the near future.
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The concept signals a possible production model for the brand, although officially it’s just a demonstration of new technology.
