The Honda Project 2&4 Concept Is A MotoGP-Engined Ariel Atom Killer

After years of producing nothing more exciting than the CR-Z, Honda must have been bottling up all of its performance car urges. Why? Because there seems to be a bit of a fast car explosion going on over at the Japanese manufacturer. Of course, we have the new NSX (when it eventually arrives) and the Civic Type R, with its mad power output and bonkers aero. But, the most extreme manifestation of this pent up aggression is now this: Project 2&4 concept, a single-seater ball of fury.

We already knew from the recent teaser that this thing was going to be pretty mad, but now that we can see it in its full glory ahead of a Frankfurt debut, it’s perhaps even crazier than we’d anticipated. According to Honda, this machine "provides the freedom of a motorcycle and the manoeuvrability of a car", achieving the former by having a "floating" seat which is pretty much sitting on the outside of the car. It makes the Aerial Atom’s ‘cabin’ look positively luxurious, so that’s the "freedom" box jolly well ticked.

It’ll be fast, too. As this is a collaboration between staff from both Honda’s car and motorcycle divisions, it has a mid-mounted motorbike engine. And not just any bike engine: it’s the RC213V, the same 999cc V4 that powers Marc Marquez’s MotoGP bike. Crikey.

It’s good for 212bhp which, considering the 2&4 weighs just 405kg, should be more than enough. It should hopefully sound pretty fruity too, with a 14,000rpm red line.

The big question is: will this concept become a production reality? Nothing’s been confirmed yet, but as Honda seems intent on getting its fast car mojo back, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see a production version of this arrive - albeit without the funky transparent dashboard, and the RC213V engine swapped for the road-going ‘S’ version.

Until then, if you want to have a gawp at this extreme concept in the metal, it’ll be on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show, which kicks off on 15 September.