Skip advert
Advertisement

Yamaha Sports Ride Concept pairs motorcycle fun with Gordon Murray tech

Two-door model built using iStream process - first shown with the Gordon Murray-designed Motiv

Yamaha has revealed its vision of a lightweight, two-seater sports car at the Tokyo motor show – and sitting underneath it is technology from Gordon Murray Design.

As we predicted prior to the show, Yamaha’s latest concept vehicle is also the latest to use Murray’s pioneering iStream construction technology, first previewed on the Motiv city car.

Advertisement - Article continues below

The technology allows a series of vehicles to be constructed using similar methods, regardless of their market sector. It involves using tubular subframes and composite body panels, and in the Sports Ride Concept’s case, the composite is carbonfibre.

In reality, the process could be used for anything – and Yamaha also hints that an SUV-type model would be possible.

Unfortunately, further details on the Sports Ride Concept are slim, but the car takes the form of a mid-engined, two-seater sports car in the vein of the Alfa Romeo 4C and Lotus Elise.

Yamaha says the car draws from the firm’s experience of creating other ‘mobility products’, but motorcycles are clearly the main inspiration, with a lithe exterior and pared-back (yet well-finished) cabin.

Styling is a unique proposition, though we can see some similarities in the Sports Ride’s front end to recent Toyota concept cars. It’s compact though, appearing little larger, if at all, than an Alfa Romeo 4C.

Yamaha isn’t new to the automotive sector. A former engine supplier to Formula 1 teams, the manufacturer nearly produced its own F1-engined supercar called the OX99-11 in 1994. But Japan’s economic crisis halted that project, and the firm remains best known for its production motorbikes and MotoGP racing.

This new car - and the Motiv that came before it - suggests Yamaha is experimenting with the idea of re-entering the car industry in the near future. Will the Sports Ride Concept remain a demonstrator of Yamaha’s technology or could it in fact preview a future model?

Click here to follow more stories from the 2015 Tokyo motor show.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Bentley EXP 15 looks deep into Crewe's electric future
Bentley EXP15 Concept front
News

Bentley EXP 15 looks deep into Crewe's electric future

British brand reveals latest concept designed to reinvent the traditional saloon car
8 Jul 2025
Mercedes Concept AMG GT XX previews a Porsche Taycan rival with a British heart
Mercedes-AMG Concept GT XX – front
News

Mercedes Concept AMG GT XX previews a Porsche Taycan rival with a British heart

Innovative British motor tech and advanced high-performance batteries are at the heart of this 1341bhp concept and the production car it'll inspire
25 Jun 2025
Lotus Theory 1 concept is a three-seat, 986bhp hypercar
Lotus Theory 1
News

Lotus Theory 1 concept is a three-seat, 986bhp hypercar

With Veyron power, a carbon tub and EV underpinnings, the Lotus Theory 1 is more junior Evija than Emira successor
17 Sep 2024
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

£15k off Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio super SUV
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio
News

£15k off Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio super SUV

If you have to have an SUV, a Stelvio QV is acceptable. Now it's being heavily discounted.
8 Jul 2025
Ferrari F80 2025 review – near-1200bhp tech tour de force tested on road and track
Ferrari F80 review
Reviews

Ferrari F80 2025 review – near-1200bhp tech tour de force tested on road and track

Maranello’s latest hybrid hypercar and successor to the LaFerrari blends mind-bending capabilities with deeply intuitive character
10 Jul 2025
New cars at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed – all the debuts from Aston to Zenvo
Festival of Speed 2025
News

New cars at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed – all the debuts from Aston to Zenvo

The 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed is underway. Here’s what’s in store from the biggest British motoring event of the year
11 Jul 2025