What Do You Think Of The Yamaha Sports Ride?

Yamaha may finally be entering the automotive world, which means that the impressive, mid-engined Sports Ride concept may not be as far-fetched as it may seem.

Compared to the rest of the world, cars developed slowly in Japan until the early ’60s, with manufacturers often just reassembling designs from foreign marques. But six years before it’d help Toyota in the creation of the now-legendary 2000GT, Yamaha had already sent engineers to gather inspiration from Europe, creating the little-known YX30. Think of it like a fibreglass-bodied MGA, with an engine inspired by the 1.6-litre 4-cylinder in a Facel Vega Facellia.

I’m not privy to the boardroom dealings of Yamaha, but it seems like a company dedicated mainly to pleasing enthusiasts, from audio equipment and professional recording gear to dirt bikes and pianos. Perhaps making cars is a mature enough industry that Yamaha feels its possible to make a viable go of building entire vehicles—an electric city car called the Motiv has already reportedly been greenlit for production by 2019. 

Yamaha already has a successful history of building winning engines, suspension, and other components, not to mention the OX99-011 supercar, so it no doubt understands how to make a car. But what a viable automaker really needs is a visionary who will push vehicles forward—and there aren’t many to choose from. If you had a choice, though, you’d pick Gordon Murray, father of the McLaren F1. Nice one, Yamaha.

What you may not know is that South African-born engineer is one of the few people in the world still chasing road car excellence through lightness. His first homebuilt race car, the 1967 IGM Ford, weighed around 900 lbs., and was a winner from the start. He designed cars for, and worked alongside Bernie Ecclestone to turn Brabham into a world-beating team—yes, even the “Fan Car”. He was then at McLaren during its dominant years in the late ’80s and early ’90s. 

More importantly, the road cars he designs—even the F1—all tend to be remarkably light. The Mini-based Midas Coupés (1,367 lbs.), the T.25 and T.27 city cars (~1,265 lbs), and the two-seat Light Car Company Rocket (840 lbs.) prove that point. Yamaha supplied the motorcycle engines used in the Rocket, by the way.

Put another way, this is a Mazda MX-5 Miata-sized sports car that, at roughly 1,655 lbs., weighs just 110 lbs more than a new Yamaha YXZ1000R SE side-by-side ATV. Totally not a fair comparison, of course: the Sports Ride includes windows, doors, sizeable storage area, and upholstery. 

So what do you think of the Yamaha Sports Ride? I think I’ll be raiding my savings in a few years.