Cold months like January are for dreaming, aren't they? From all your New Year's resolutions, to just simply wanting to spend a little more time lingering under your nice, warm covers, the unfortunate fact is that most of us can't actually hibernate.
So instead, we're left with mental flights of fancy that seem all the more appealing because the wind hurts our faces when we go outside. OK, maybe I'm speaking for myself here. I accept that.
If you're Yamaha Motor, it also means the Tokyo Auto Salon, which just wrapped for 2025 over the weekend. While the company brought a bunch of its current-gen motorcycles to the show, it also took this opportunity to show off several concept EVs based on its new "personal low-speed mobility" EV platform.
All of them have four wheels, and all could be considered utility task vehicles (UTVs); just not hyper-performance-oriented ones. Fascinatingly, Yamaha says, this entire platform is built to be powered exclusively by Honda Mobile Power Pack e: units. If swappable EV battery pack ecosystems are to ever gain a major foothold, not having a bazillion different standards/shapes/sizes between brands is key. Honda Mobile Power Pack e: once again offers intriguing possibilities.
But I digress. To the Cyberpod!
OK, that's not really what Yamaha's calling it. I mean, trademarks are a thing. So, say hello instead to the Yamaha C160 concept, built on the Diapason EV platform. Everyone's favorite tuning fork OEM uses descriptors like "minimal-sized," "one-seater," and "off-road electric mobility vehicle" when sketching a verbal image of the C160.
From the back, it looks a bit like a video game rendering of a small boat on a trailer. The blocky, angular image and thin LED light strip across the front instantly call to mind the Tesla Cybertruck, although in this case, it also appears to have a soft top.
This design was developed by Yamaha Motor, in collaboration with design firm Higraph Tokyo. The latter firm's previous work is all over the place, including designs for clients like Toyota, Sanyo, and MTV; it's definitely not exclusively devoted to the automotive or powersports worlds in its design pursuits.
In a way, it also looks a bit like a modern interpretation of a carriage, like the kind that used to be drawn behind horses before humans figured out engines. If you travel by yourself all (or at least most of) the time, could this be an ideal solution in certain use cases? That won't be clear until and unless Yamaha brings this from concept to reality, and we get some actual concrete specs to consider.
What do you think, would you ride in this little guy if you could? Or is it too quirky by half? Let us know in the comments!
