Yamaha reveals sports car at Tokyo Motor Show

Yamaha has revealed its Sports Ride Concept sportscar at the Tokyo motor show. The car's underpinnings are created by McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray.

Yamaha is yet to declare the car’s official weight, but it is believed to weigh way under 900kg. Powertrain details for the car are unknown, but Yamaha could combine the carbon-fibre chassis with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine, which is expected to produce between 70 and 100bhp. This could give the car a power-to-weight ratio of up to, or even more than, 140bhp per tonne, which is around that of an Elise, against which Yamaha is likely to pit the sportscar.

That engine was tipped to produce 70-80bhp, but uprated beyond 100bhp in an entry-level form, that would be likely to give the car a power-to-weight ratio in excess of 140bhp per tonne, which is around that of an Elise. The automaker had already released teaser images of the sports car prior to its debut in Tokyo.

The Sports Ride Concept follows Yamaha’s 2013 Tokyo show concept, the Motiv, which used Gordon Murray’s iStream car creation process to underpin a rival for the Smart micro-car. Yamaha’s general manager of innovation, Masato Suzuki, confirmed at the time that different body styles were possible - and Murray himself confirmed that a convertible and a sports car could be spun off the technology. 

(Inputs from Jim Holder, Autocar UK)

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