Engineers and designers at Honda are no different than those at other auto companies - always thinking of what might be next.
One difference is that sometimes Honda let's em loose to actually build a concept even though it isn't likely to ever become a production model.
After all, it could trigger a groundswell of demand and really become the next big thing - or pieces of it could be used in a real production vehicle. Who knows?
That's the thinking behind the Honda 3R-C, a battery-electric three-wheeler that looks like a closed-cabin mini-car when parked but opens up into a full-faired trike when in motion.
The plastic canopy that covers the seat and controls to keep weather and other people out when the 3R-C is parked opens to become a windscreen when it is rolling.
There's a lockable storage area up front, and though hard to see in the photos Honda has provided, a set of doors and other body panels and a high-sided safety seat that all help protect the driver in a crash.
The electric motor and batteries are mounted low in the chassis for increased stability.
Honda plans to show the 3R-C at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show next week.
It was designed at Honda's R&D studio in Milan to explore the idea of single-occupant urban transport and comes just after Nissan showed a two-seat, four-wheeled, fully enclosed urban EV, the LandGlider concept, at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show.
Both are potential answers to the question of how automakers can continuing to provide personal transport in increasingly crowded, pollution-threatened cities.
Source: edmunds.com
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