Japan's concept cars - the craziest of the noughties

By Alex Michaelides

Motor Shows

19 August 2009 10:00

Here we are, celebrating the best cars that Japan has produced, but what about the ones it hasn’t? At many motor shows – and particularly ones in its back yard – the Japanese industry serves up some wild concept cars which boggle the brain and tickle the ribs. It’s hardly surprising that few of them hit the mainstream. Here are ten of our favourites from the Noughties.

Used to headline Mazda’s bold new design direction at the Detroit show in 2008, the Furai’s composite bodywork looks stunning.  The triple rotor Wankel engine sounds fantastic too. But somehow Mazda keep cranking out relatively tame production cars little influenced by the ‘wave’ mantra espoused by their concept car brethren.

Crazy by name, crazy by nature. This shopping-trolley supercar has a 200bhp 1.8-litre VVTi motor from the MR2, which propels it to 60mph in 5.8 seconds. Unfortunately, it’s limited to a rather un-crazy 127mph. A supermini with supercar aspirations.

Presumably aimed at those who enjoy a stealthy spot of urban fox watching. The Scion Safari pick-up boasts rear-facing seats, a bed liner and, of course, a safari cage so you can protect yourself from any marauding lions that happen to be passing through the savannah. Or Stevenage.

Cars can be inspired by many things: birds, sharks, jet fighters, you name it. But the Toyota RiN draws inspiration from a tree. We can’t see it to be honest, but the RiN concept uses green glass to reduce infiltration of UV light. And here’s a common theme in 2000s Japanese concept cars – the cabin design is said to encourage good posture and retrain your mood. It’s spiritual, man.

One for the lonely hearts. The Pivo2’s clever one-seat cabin cleverly rotates 360 degrees, making a reverse gear obsolete. It also comes with a ‘robotic agent’ with a voice recognition system that talks to you. Looks very R2D2, if you ask us.

Carrying on the cute-and-cuddly theme, the Toyota Pod is the first car to display emotion. The exterior LEDs glow orange in excitement when its owner approaches, and red if it gets angry. The car’s face can express 10 different emotions, and it has a tail that will wag when it’s happy. Walkies!

Forget carbon composite structures, the next big thing is bamboo – apparently. That’s the thinking of boffins at Kyoto University, who built this, the Bambgoo. The electric-powered wicker basket weighs just 60kg, meaning it can last 50km on a single charge. Wonder if we can turn the wick(er) up?

Are you a dog lover? Have you run out of places to put your mutts? Then you need this, the Honda WOW. Standing for Wonderful Open-hearted Wagon, it has three rows of seats and the second row can also fold into a dog-pen. There’s even an added dog storage bin in the cockpit so Fido can sit up front with the driver.

Take a deep breath. The name Puyo is a Japanese onomatopoeic phrase that apparently expresses the emotion felt when you touch the Puyo’s soft, gel-coated body. Very saucy. The touchy-feely approach is carried on inside, with a silky feel interior.

The Suzuki Sharing Coach is what happens when the Japanese try to make Russian dolls. It may look like an ordinary(ish) car, but when the Sharing Coach stops, two personal mobility vehicles pop out, so you don’t even have to walk from the car to the shops. Has life come to this?

This 2001 concept car bore all the hallmarks of a brilliantly barmy Tokyo concept. Looking like the glass cube that street artist David Blaine might live in, the Unibox is essentially a greenhouse on wheels. Perfect for growing tomatoes. Not so good for keeping some privacy on the road.

Visitors to the 2007 Tokyo motor show were treated to Toyota’s take on Steven Hawking’s wheelchair. The i-Real is like a three-wheeler Segway and hits 20mph, shuffling and expanding its articulated joints to change position: you sit low when you’re careering along pavements, dodging grannies, for maximum speed; slow down to shop, and the i-Real bends more upright for extra stability and manoeuvrability. A crazy concept, but one that shows just how seriously the Japanese are taking future mobility demands.

By Alex Michaelides