What's the news?

The Yamaha Motor Company brought a new city car concept to this year's Tokyo Motor Show that has been dubbed the MOTIV.e. Gordon Murray, he of the McLaren F1 fame (and a lot more) had rather a lot to do with it so it's hardly surprising that the all-electric MOTIV.e is claimed to use "ground breaking manufacturing and materials technology".

Exterior

The MOTIV.e looks fantastic. Like a Smart Fortwo on steroids. Its lightweight construction is said to be based on Yamaha's motorcycle range; and has come to fruition with the help of Gordon Murray Design and Company's iStream manufacturing technology. Up front, thanks to its electric-only propulsion, there is a huge expanse of bumper where the grille would normally sit; and angular lights with LED daytime running lights have been fitted as well. Moving rearwards, the bodywork tapers towards the roofline to create its pronounced rear lip spoiler; below which simple, round light clusters reside. Lightweight alloy wheels and hidden door handles help to give the MOTIV.e a clean look from the side as well.

Interior

It's clear that simplicity is the key inside, as there are very few controls on the dashboard; and the car does without a centre console entirely. Sitting behind the sporty-looking steering wheel is a black-and-red-coloured LCD screen that mimics the colour scheme shared with the rest of the interior - it displays all of the car's vital information. In terms of trim, the MOTIV.e appears to have black leather seats with contrasting red stitching; while elsewhere the cabin seems to feature an Alcantara-style material. The fairly dark cabin is broken up with splashes of silver on the dashboard, steering wheel and air vent surrounds.

Mechanicals

Yamaha quotes 15kW (20hp) continuous or 25kW (34hp) peak power output, though the overall weight is only 730kg. Power is sent to the rear wheels and Yamaha quotes a 0-62mph time of less than 15 seconds, with a top speed of over 60mph. The expected real-world range is about 100 miles.

Anything else?

Yamaha says that the MOTIV.e is the starting point for "urban mobility vehicles", which we hope means that Gordon Murray's vision for an efficient, fun city car will finally make it to production.

James Giddings - 22 Nov 2013