Yamaha Sports Ride: Gordon Murray joins forces with Japanese firm for sports car concept

The concept is made using a honeycomb paper core sandwiched between carbonfibre skins

The likely weight of the vehicle means it should have scintillating performance

The first rule of Gordon Murray is that if he’s involved, it’s going to be interesting.

Be interested, then, by the Yamaha Sports Ride.

The car takes inspiration from the two-wheelers for which Yamaha is famous

Exploring the potential of Murray’s iStream manufacturing process, this sports car concept is made using a honeycomb paper core sandwiched between carbonfibre skins. Taking its inspiration from the two-wheelers for which Yamaha is famous, its design was the work of an external agency led by one-time Toyota man Dezi Nagaya.

Murray previously worked with Yamaha on the Motiv city car

Murray previously worked with Yamaha on the Motiv city car that was shown at Tokyo two years ago, and it’s believed that this vehicle’s 1.0-litre engine may also be at the heart of the Sports Ride.

The Sports Ride could be brought to market without needing a prohibitive price tag

While that doesn’t sound like a sportscar engine, the likely weight of the vehicle means it should have scintillating performance.

The iStream process was conceived to work as well on short production runs as with mass-market vehicles. That may be the key to this being more than just a flight of fancy – because it means the Sports Ride could feasibly be brought to market without needing a prohibitive price tag.