Not quite car, not quite motorcycle, Honda brings the unusual 3R-C urban transport concept to the Geneva Motor Show.
The emphasis is on small and clean at this year’s Geneva Motor Show. But it would be difficult to downsize much more than Honda’s 3R-C concept. The automaker calls it an “urban transport” vehicle for one, but it looks something like what you might find in a manga, one of Japan’s ever-popular comic books.
The basic design suggests the folks at Honda motorcycles might have gotten involved in the development of this three-wheeler. A clear canopy serves as a sort of enveloping windshield when the 3R-C is in motion, but when the concept is parked, that glass lowers to completely seal off the vehicle.
The driver sits low within the Honda 3R-C, surrounded by the high sides of what Honda dubs the “safety shell.” It both reduces the dangers of a collision and provides additional protection from the elements.
The Honda 3R-C might look like a quirky Tokyo concept, but it was developed by the automaker's European designers.
A small amount of luggage can be stored in the cargo compartment that’s mounted in front of the driver on the 3R-C.
Though the Honda concept brings to mind some earlier prototypes shown by Toyota, at past Tokyo Motor Shows, the Honda 3R-C was developed by that maker’s European designers working at the Honda R&D Center, in Milan.
Honda will also bring the EV-N concept to the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The pint-sized EV-N, which was first revealed at last year’s poorly-attended Tokyo Motor Show, is designed to “evoke the spirit,” Honda says, of the 1967 N360 city car.
Also aimed at urban use, the design features solar panels to assist in recharging the EV-N concept’s lithium-ion battery pack.