Honda Motor Co. will debut an open-wheeled sporty car that features a dangling roofless “floating” driver’s seat and “creative craftsmanship” at this month’s Frankfurt motor show.
The vehicle is the winner of Honda’s Global Design Project. It has a mouthful of a name: The “Honda Project 2&4 power by RC213V.”
The project is a design exercise meant to celebrate Honda’s rich heritage as a maker of two-wheeled motorcycles and four-wheeled passenger vehicles. The Frankfurt vehicle gets four wheels but is powered by Honda’s RDC213V motorcycle engine. It was inspired by Honda’s RA272 Formula One racer from 1965, a rocket-shaped car that helped put the Japanese brand on the map. The concept’s powerful MotoGP 999cc V-4 four-stroke engine has been modified to run on public roads, Honda said in a statement late Tuesday.
Its gearbox is a six-speed dual-clutch transmission.
More than 80 designers competed in this year’s in-house competition -- an annual contest between Honda’s design studios. This year’s winning entry was a collaboration between two motorcycle and automobile design studios in Japan. Honda said the funky racer showcases “the continuous effort by Honda to design an ever-more immersive driving experience.”
Its open-air bucket seat cradles the driver on the car’s left-hand side, while wrap-around cladding forms an aerodynamic shield around the rest of the ride. Underneath, there is an open-air architecture to allow for a rush of exhilaration.
“The ‘floating seat’ design places the driver as close to the action as possible,” Honda said. “Honda Project 2&4 seeks to create an intense driving experience by combining the most thrilling elements of riding a motorcycle with the most engaging characteristics of driving a car.”
Weighing in at just 405 kilograms (893 pounds), the Project 2&4 gets a mid-mounted engine for a low center of gravity and responsive handling -- just like the original RA272.
