Automotive

Honda blends race car and motorcycle into the Project 2&4

Honda blends race car and motorcycle into the Project 2&4
The vehicle's single seat hovers just inches from the ground, connecting the driver to the road
The vehicle's single seat hovers just inches from the ground, connecting the driver to the road
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Honda will show the Project 2&4 at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show
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Honda will show the Project 2&4 at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show
The Honda 2&4 is one big part motorcycle, one big part track car
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The Honda 2&4 is one big part motorcycle, one big part track car
The vehicle's single seat hovers just inches from the ground, connecting the driver to the road
3/3
The vehicle's single seat hovers just inches from the ground, connecting the driver to the road
View gallery - 3 images

After a short teaser campaign, Honda has pulled the cloth off its wicked little Project 2&4. Honda's own answer to track roadsters like the Ariel Atom and BAC Mono, the road-legal 2&4 employs an RC213V four-cylinder competition motorcycle engine in opening up the freedom of a motorcycle with the handling and stability of a car.

Born in Honda's in-house Global Design Project competition, the Project 2&4 comes to life as a celebration of Honda's diverse, wide-reaching engine expertise. As a world engine leader, Honda supplies engines to some 28 million people per year, powering everything from yard tools to boats. The 2&4 blurs the lines between two of its most well-known engine destinations: the automobile and the motorcycle.

The lightly faired 2&4 four-wheeler is powered by a modified version of Honda's 999cc RC213V MotoGP V4 four-stroke mated to a six-speed DCT gearbox. Though the 2&4 looks like a pure track car, the engine has been tuned for public roads. It puts out 212 hp at 13,000 rpm and 87 lb-ft at 10,500 rpm. Its redline is 14,000 rpm.

Honda will show the Project 2&4 at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show
Honda will show the Project 2&4 at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show

Using Honda's racing heritage – specifically the 1965 RA272 – for inspiration, Honda's design team has created a raw, skeletal race car that keeps the scale needle hovering just under 893 lb (405 kg). The engine is mounted amidships within the very visible framework. Honda has dropped the off-center floating seat down to a position just inches over the ground, helping maintain the lowest possible center of gravity while giving the driver freedom and feel for the road usually reserved for motorcycles.

Whether you're a sports car enthusiast, motorcycle rider or just a general observer, it's hard to look at the 2&4 without thinking something along the lines of, "I want to slink in that seat and open that sucker up," over and over again.

The 119.7 x 71.7 x 39.2-in (3,040 x 1,820 x 995-mm) 2&4 was brought to life by a partnership between Honda's automobile design studio in Wako and motorcycle design team in Asaka. Honda will show it at next week's Frankfurt Motor Show, and will hopefully expand a bit more on its performance characteristics.

Source: Honda

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10 comments
10 comments
RelayerM31
This is the closest thing to the Batmobile that a mortal man can drive. +1,000
Keith Reeder
Never seen the BAC Mono then, have you, Relayer..?
http://www.bac-mono.com/
Timelord
Honda must have had its reasons for this design, but I would have blurred the lines a bit more by going with a single rear wheel, a 2+1 as it were. It would have saved even more weight by eliminating one wheel, its suspension components and disc brake, and the differential. One tire would still have enough power transmitted to the road, proven by the fact that the record for fastest standing quarter mile by a production vehicle is held by a motorcycle, not a car.
Peter Humphreys
Owes much to the BAC Mono. Agree should be a trike, like the Sub3.
Bob
That weight is pretty impressive. Many ATVs weigh more than that. Even the Polaris Slingshot trike is nearly twice as heavy with one less wheel.
Philip Heung
Bring back the Sub3!!!!
http://www.gizmag.com/go/5358/
Jugen
Not a lot of side impact protection! It sort of blends worse of both worlds together. Open cockpit = wearing motorcycle gear getting wet and cold, 4 wheels = getting stuck in traffic. At least you could keep the right side of your body warm and dry while you sit in the traffic jam, while every child stares at you from their backseats asking mommy why is there a man sitting in a car with motorcycle cloths on.
Dan Parker
Sounds like an expensive go-kart to me.
Lance
I wounder how much it costs?
PeteN95
It appears to be all wheel drive judging by equal sized tires and what appears to be an axle boot in the front hub. Not much roll over protection for something that will probably top 180 MPH!