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Ah, those crazy Japanese and their amusing acronyms.
This is the Honda P-NUT, a futuristic city concept unveiled this week at the LA Auto Show. That’s P-NUT, short for Personal-Neo Urban Transport. Ah, so droll.
The P-NUT, says Honda, explores what a city car could look like in 10 to 15 years time, and features a McLaren F1-style three-seater layout with the driver front-and-centre, flanked by a pair of passengers sitting slightly behind.
Like the Mitsubishi i, the P-NUT is rear-engined and rear-wheel drive, a configuration that assists its compact packaging. The engine bay has been designed to incorporate a whole range of powertrains, from a conventional small petrol engine through a hybrid system to full electric drive.
As you probably guessed, the P-NUT is a genuine blue-sky concept: instead of door mirrors, it gets a single reversing camera, and there’s a distinct lack of, er, anything on the inside. Apart from a Darth-Vader-Tie-Fighter-steering-wheel-thing.
Still, we like the P-NUT. It looks mental – the work, incidentally, of Brit designer Andy Foster in Honda’s LA design studio – and it has the face of an Evil Robot Owl.
Warning: if swallowed, this product may cause choking.
Honda P-NUT: cracking
Futuristic Japanese city car concept features McLaren F1-style seating and the face of an Evil Robot Owl
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What do you think?
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Robert4 commented on this article
at 11:34 am on 04 December 2009
Sorry but it's a no from me. I really hate the new things like this one, the personal transport 1, 2 or 3 seaters like thiis one. I think they are pointless and the conpanies should go back to the normal car. What's wrong with Honda building the follow up to the NSX or something? I understand the point of this car, eco and so on but no real petrol head will ever like it. When i saw it for the first time i just though, 'not again, another concept that will never be build'. Why don't they just spend their millions on thinks that will have a point in the real life, like Lexus, they have spend millions on developing the LFA and they have ended up with a great car. Everyone should do the same. Only petrol though.
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kendersrule commented on this article
at 11:55 am on 04 December 2009
Why do they bother with passenger seat(s)? City travel = shopping!
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AshHorne commented on this article
at 12:17 pm on 04 December 2009
Honda and 'Mclaren F1' in the same article? Did you guys in the office have some sort of bet, or something?
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AdrianM commented on this article
at 01:32 pm on 04 December 2009
I like the Hammerhead Eagle iThrust style seating arangement. And I kinda like it overall.
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JohnBoyTKD commented on this article
at 02:13 pm on 04 December 2009
Anything which resembles a Stormtrooper is ok by me! Forward visibility looks a bit limited, which isn't helpful when doing battle with a Light Sabre wielding Jedi. Otherwise I think it looks pretty mega!
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