Tokyo 2015: Yamaha Sports Ride concept fuses two and four wheels
Motorbikes and musical instruments make the Yamaha Tokyo concept stand out
Almost in sight of Honda’s bike-and-car fusion 2&4 concept, Yamaha’s Sports Ride two-seater coupe is another show car that blends bike and car design to intriguing effect.
Built from a carbon tub produced using Gordon Murray’s iStream manufacturing process, the Yamaha’s exterior features overlapping surfaces and floating aero forms on the B-pillars that give the car a motorsport-inspired look and feel.
Slender LED lamps and a pontoon-style nose recall the Toyota FT-1, too, albeit in a scaled-down form.
The interior is a real triumph, with a blend of beautifully crafted carbon and metal details overlaid with leather that Pagani would be proud of. Look a little closer and it is here that the motorbike influence is most overt. The driver’s seat features a miniature motorcycle fuel tank between the driver’s legs – the idea being that the driver can also use their legs to hold themselves in position when cornering hard, just like a bike rider. The ‘tank’ also nearly integrates the switch for the electric seat adjustment, that moves the seat and centre gear selector forwards and back as one unit.
The gauge pack is also intended to float behind a small cowl, just like the fly screen of a motorcycle, while behind the driver’s head is an aerodynamic luggage space that looks like the tail of a sports bike.
Completing the motorcycle theme, and taking advantage of the carbon tub’s strength, the roof, lower doors and sections of the floor are translucent, to give the driver a real sensation of speed.
The interior also includes strong links to Yamaha’s origins as a maker of musical instruments, hence the firm’s tuning-fork logo. The air vent ducts look like pipes of an organ, complete with vents that look like the keys of a baritone saxophone, while there’s a small horn mounted behind the passenger seat. The stereo controls also recall Yamaha’s high-end hi-fi separates.
All in, this manifesto of Yamaha products, mixed with great craftsmanship, makes for a truly intriguing show car.