Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo on their MotoGP racers? Sure. Production motorcycles? Definitely. Plus boats, golf karts, snowmobiles and tons of other stuff.
That’s just a few of the product Yamaha Motor Company, which was formed in 1955 after separating itself from Yamaha Corporation, churns out.
Cars, though? You may not find something with its badge on, apart from ATVs, but it was famously involved in the Toyota 2000GT sports car and, much later, in supplying engines to Formula 1 teams (1989-1997) and even developing its own supercar.
The OX99-11 was scheduled to enter production in 1994, powered by a 3.5-liter V12 and would showcase the brand’s involvement in F1. Unfortunately it got canned due to its steep price (upwards of US$1 million) along with the economic crisis that hit Japan.
For the time being, it is committed to building Gordon Murray’s Motiv city car, starting 2019. That’s not all, though. At the end of the month, Yamaha will display a sports car concept at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show. There’s absolutely no info whatsoever about it from the Iwata-based company, just a dark image with the outline of the car.
From what we can tell it’s a two-seater with a low-snug front end that makes it unlikely for a motor to fit under the bonnet. Thus, it has to be mid-engined or maybe use an all-electric propulsion system.
Is it possible it will hit the road or is it destined to remain a study just like the R-Car that was displayed at the same venue in 2012? We guess our questions will be answered pretty soon, as there are only 10 days to go before the Tokyo Motor Show.
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