Outrageous MotoGP-engined single-seat track car concept revealed as the Japanese firm looks to re-establish itself as a producer of driver-focused performance machines
Honda is previewing an astonishing track-day car with its motorcycle-influenced and MotoGP-powered Project 2&4, a stunning single-seat Frankfurt show concept that promises to out-Atom the Ariel Atom.
The winner of a global contest between Honda’s design studios, Project 2&4 is a joint project between the firm’s motorcycle and car designers in Osaka and Wako respectively.
It’s some 40cm shorter than an Atom, at just 3040mm long, and a little wider, at 1820mm. Honda says the car’s layout and livery are inspired by the RA272 Formula 1 machine that became the first Japanese car to win at the top level of motorsport by claiming the Mexican Grand Prix 40 years ago this October.
Project 2&4 features a novel layout, with the RC213V MotoGP bike’s 999cc V4 engine mounted at one side of the chassis and a single seat ‘suspended’ above the ground by extrusions on the other side. Honda claims the design is intended to give the driver the same feeling of freedom that he would have on a motorcycle and, barring a four-point harness and a deeply scalloped seat, there’s little to hold the occupant in place.
The V4 motor has been detuned for road use, but Honda says it still produces more than 212bhp at a heady 13,000rpm. The peak torque figure of 87lb ft comes at 10,500rpm, and the limiter will cut in at 14,000rpm (the same figure as the RA272’s 1.5-litre V12, incidentally). Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission that’s controlled via paddles behind the steering wheel.
The motorcycle engine and bare single-seat layout help Project 2&4 to a remarkable kerb weight of just 405kg — a full 115kg lighter than the two-seat Atom and enough to give the car a power-to-weight ratio of 523bhp per tonne.
Honda has not issued details of the car’s construction, but it appears to be a blend of carbonfibre and aluminium. The official images of the concept show Öhlins dampers that are likely to be adjustable.
The Project 2&4 does not have a conventional dashboard. Instead, it uses a transparent digital display to show a range of information. The concept’s display shows a lap of Suzuka circuit and a link from the rear-view camera, which takes the place of side mirrors and is based at the back of the central air intake. The steering wheel itself includes the engine starter button, switches for the trip computer’s stopwatch operation and toggles that are likely to adjust the Project 2&4’s engine and traction control modes.
Honda has declined to confirm if a version of Project 2&4 could reach even limited production. It would have the capacity to manufacture a handful of examples with the competition engine, which is hand-built in Japan, but a larger run would probably require a switch to the motor from the road version of the MotoGP racer, the RC213V-S.
The Japanese brand is keen to re-establish itself as a producer of extreme driver-focused cars, helping to support the much-delayed arrival of the NSX supercar next year and the recent return of the Civic Type R hot hatch.
Comment - Can Honda build it?
Honda desperately needs to reignite its reputation as a bold creator of fantastically engineered, driver-focused products as it prepares to bring back the NSX brand - and Project 2&4 could be just the ticket.
There are elements of the concept that are pure fantasy - the high-tech instrument panel would cost the same as an Ariel Atom alone, one suspects. But replace it with a conventional Stack racing display and use the road-going RC213V-S engine instead of the MotoGP unit and you could conceivably produce a track-day special that could sell for the price of a high-performance sports car.
Would that make Honda a profit? It’s unlikely. But with the brand’s return to Formula 1 with McLaren faltering badly, a limited production run of even four-fifths of the Project 2&4 concept could indeed do wonders for a brand that badly needs to rediscover its performance mojo before it relaunches its own supercar.
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