Journal: What Do You Think Of The Yamaha Sports Ride?

What Do You Think Of The Yamaha Sports Ride?

By Michael Banovsky
December 2, 2015

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.

 

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Willam Giltzow
Willam Giltzow
8 years ago

Gordon Murray’s designs have needed competent manufacture and marketing. Yamaha should be able to do that. I hope they carry through.

Emil Jonsson
Emil Jonsson
8 years ago

Is it only me who likes the OX99 more? The new one looks kind of chubby and out of proportion.

Did you also know that Yamsha made all V8 engines for later VOLVO:s? For example the one in the XC90. 300 Hp. Same engine is also in the Noble M600. Much more tuned and with a turbo….

Christian Austin
Christian Austin
8 years ago

I love the fact that Yamaha is entering the car world and I love that the Lotus scale car but the design is wack. Hopefully it will be good enough for a MKII and a second iteration.

Stephan P
Stephan P
8 years ago

I love the concept. As with most modern cars the design is way too fussy for my taste. The overall side profile is nice but it’s compromised by all the different surfaces. I still hope they build it, there is always a need for good light sports cars.

Michael Hammonds
Michael Hammonds
8 years ago

I’ll take one in Orange!

JB21
JB21
8 years ago

I like it. I’d like it even better if it’s 3.6m long and weighs about 750kg, and naturally aspirated 4 cylinder that’s like 1.3litre and somewhere in the range of 100hp, but revs to 9000rpm with a proper 3-pedal manual, then I’d like it even better.

Dusko Rodic
Dusko Rodic
8 years ago
Reply to  JB21

That’s a proper recipe for real fun!Small displacement NA,high revving,4 bangers of course with stick shift.

Pedro Novaes
Pedro Novaes
8 years ago

Guess the original from the 90’s was quite good already…

https://youtu.be/KCCxkk6BAYM

Imagine the new one!

Drew Duncan
Drew Duncan
8 years ago

I think that it’s nice to see more “affordable” performance cars especially one with a psuedo-monocoque.
The rendered styling is rather interesting though, it looks like an NSX + RX-8 + i8 + 4th gen Firebird.

Steve Hoult
Steve Hoult
8 years ago

It’s very interesting, but what’s the power source? Please be at least 180-200 hp for under $30K base and let the options flow. That would give a smidge over 12 lbs/hp.

André Borges
André Borges
8 years ago

What a devastatingly interesting machine. Absolutamente maravilhosa! I truly endeared it, and the interior looks quite classy as well.

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