Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/564551
IN THE WIND P38 MOTOGP FOR THE STREET. IN A CAR! H onda is returning to its per- formance roots in a big way with news the company will be building a fast car. Why is it on Cycle News you ask? Because said fast car will be powered by the company's very own RC213V MotoGP engine! News just broke that Honda will be unveiling Project 2&4 at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Project 2&4 is a collaboration between Honda's motorcycle sector in Asaka and the automotive wing in Wako, Japan, and "is the result of the company's continuous effort to create a more exciting user ex- perience. Honda Project 2&4's cabin-less structure produces an immersive driving environ- ment combining the experience Honda has in providing the freedom of a motorcycle and the maneuverability of a car," according the press release. The new machine will thus go head-to-head with KTM's X-Bow and the Ariel Atom, both machines that use motorcycle-specific platforms and engines to create some of the most exhilarating cars in the world. The big difference is powering Project 2&4 will be a version of the Honda RC213V MotoGP engine (although Honda hasn't publicly stated if it will be the same engine as the road-going RC213V-S, we're betting it will be). No photos, other than what you see here, have been re- leased. Here's hoping the U.S. versions get the full power- house, rather than the limited 101hp the RC213V-S gets—that's provided Project 2&4 is actually going to go into production, and not just be a cruel teaser. CN This tiny, near pointless teaser image is all you're getting until the car gets unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show. YAMAHA'S NEW MT-03 CONFIRMED Y amaha has confirmed it will be producing anoth- er version of the MT/FZ family in the new MT-03. Based off the 321cc Yamaha YZF-R3 parallel- twin that's capable of 41 horsepower and 30kW of torque, the new machine will thus bookend the MT/FZ line up, headed by the FZ-09 and FZ-07. (The machine is designated MT in Japan due to many markets using the MT moniker rather than the FZ tag we use here in the States, but they are the same bikes.) Yamaha USA has yet to confirm its imminent arrival in the country for the 2016 model line up, yet it expected to do so soon with a retail price of around $5000. While the model will be new, the tag MT-03 is not a new one. The original MT-03 was powered by a 660cc single-cylinder engine off the Yamaha XT660 dual sport bike, and ceased production in 2013, the year the new range of MT/FZ machines first became available. CN The new MT-03 should find more favor with new riders than the original 660cc version did.