Yamaha Sports Ride Concept New Luxury Sport Car

Is it possible for a successful company to go from developing great motorcycles to creating cars too? Back in the day Honda answered this question when it marked the launch of its car production with the chain-driven S500.

A bit of History first,

Yamaha was established in 1887 as a piano and reed organ manufacturer by Torakusu Yamaha as Nippon Gakki Company, Limited (日本楽器製造株式会社 Nippon Gakki Seizō Kabushiki Kaisha?) (literally Japan Musical Instrument Manufacturing Corporation) in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture and was incorporated on October 12, 1897. The company's origins as a musical instrument manufacturer are still reflected today in the group's logo—a trio of interlocking tuning forks.

After World War II, company president Genichi Kawakami repurposed the remains of the company's war-time production machinery and the company's expertise in metallurgical technologies to the manufacture of motorcycles. The YA-1 (AKA Akatombo, the "Red Dragonfly"), of which 125 were built in the first year of production (1954), was named in honour of the founder. It was a 125cc, single cylinder, two-stroke, street bike patterned after the German DKW RT125 (which the British munitions firm, BSA, had also copied in the post-war era and manufactured as the Bantam and Harley-Davidson as the Hummer. In 1955, the success of the YA-1 resulted in the founding of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

The time has come for the focus to fall on Yamaha,

and whether it will be able to perform the smooth transition Honda did from motorcycles to cars with its Sports Ride concept that just came out.
Similarly to Honda S500, Yamaha also goes for something compact, light and sporty enough for us to really like. According to its weight – rumour has it that it’s going to be around 1,653 pounds (750 kilograms). This is actually 500 pounds lighter than an ND Miata and just a notch more than a Series 1 Lotus Elise.

What about its looks? 

For such a petit ride you would be surprised to see how rick of interior it has. Leather, metal and carbon fiber are the materials that dominate the interior. If this car is ever to be produced we can only keep ours fingers crossed that its design and interior will be exactly the same as the concept proposes.

Yamaha does have some experience with car, but in the past it was always in relation to other brands – such as developing and manufacturing Toyota 2000GT, as well as working on developing engines for Toyota, Lexus, Ford, Volvo, etc. This time however we are talking Yamaha actually doing something under its own name – and that’s huge!

Preview videos for Yamaha's Sports Car - a mini McLaren or the next Toyota 2000GT