Yamaha, Who Brought You The Taurus SHO Manifold, Has Concept Car
By Paulo Acoba
Yamaha is bringing a sports car concept to the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show and we’re all intrigued.
Mention the name Yamaha and you probably have images of that 88-key keyboard you practiced on in third grade, but they also make some pretty awesome motorcycles, snow mobiles and perform engine tuning for the biggest car manufacturers. Earlier today (Oct. 19, 2015) Yamaha announced their lineup for the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show that includes a car design concept. Wait what? Check out the teaser image below. It’s definitely small, rear wheel drive and bound to be a lot of fun.
"A total of 20 models—of which six are world premiere models and one is a Japan premiere model—will be on display. These will include electrically power-assisted bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, Leaning Multi-Wheelers (LMW), a Recreational Off-road Vehicle (ROV) and an automobile."
Despite being known for making some of the fastest motorbikes in the world, there expertise oftentimes delves into the realm of automobile design, particularly engines. Yamaha infamously had a hand in developing the cylinder head for the Toyota 4A-GE engine which we all know was stuffed into the AE-86 Corolla Trueno. Practically every performance engine from Toyota had their heads designed by Yamaha. That includes the 1LR-GUE from the Lexus LFA and the 2UR-GSE found in the Lexus ISF. Domestic market fans will remember the free-revving engines found in the Ford Taurus SHO from 1989-1995 that featured Yamaha derived V6’s and V8’s in various displacements. So when it comes to cars, Yamaha knows a thing or two about tuning.
As far as we know, this will be the first time they’re unveiling a car concept. The large side windows do give us a hint at what the dimensions are supposed to be like. And we imagine Yamaha will stuff one of their screamers of a bike engine in the rear to make a mid-ship rocket. Perhaps they’ve also partnered with another car manufacturer to design a body? We’ll have to wait and see as the Tokyo Motor show kicks off in two weeks.
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