Honda has had a thing lately for creating small, urban-themed personal transport concept vehicles. Just last December, its designers brought out the three-passenger P-Nut to the L.A. Auto Show. At this year's Geneva show, the Big H will continue its prototype lineage with an interesting looking concept vehicle called the 3R-C.
While the P-NUT concept was the brainchild of Honda's American R&D styling studio, the 3R-C was designed and developed solely by the company's European studio, based in Milan, Italy. Billed as a "minimal urban transport vehicle," it's hard to call the 3R-C a concept car, as the one-passenger, three-wheeled design study blurs the line between microcar and scooter.
Although it appears to have a translucent canopy in these pictures, it only shields the cockpit when the 3R-C is parked -- in normal operation, it rotates upright, serving as a windshield and air deflector. Designers wrapped the "safety seat" in bodywork, helping protect the driver from debris and traffic. We'd imagine a helmet would be requisite, and conveniently enough, the 3R-C sports a locking trunk, large enough for such gear or small luggage.
Power, we're told, comes from a battery-electric driveline mounted low in the chassis, but Honda hasn't provided any details and and hasn't indicted yet if the concept is actually functional.
Thanks to: Motor Trend
Geneva Show 2010 Highlights:Honda 3R-C Concept
