Honda 3R-C Concept

This is the Honda 3R-C, and Honda reckons this electric vehicle could be the future of single-person urban transport.

What is it?
Motorbikes are great for nipping around town until you either something hits you, or it starts raining. So, the 3R-C's designers working at Honda's Research and Design centre in Milan set about covering up those weaknesses. Quite literally.

A high-sided safety shell seat gives protection from side impacts and helps shield the lower part of the driver's body from the elements.

The upper body is covered by a see-through roof or canopy, which acts as a windshield when the vehicle is moving and provides the driver who sits low down in the vehicle with significant protection from weather and collisions. When parked up, the roof simply stops the driver's seat getting wet!

In front of the driver there's a lockable boot area, which gives a reasonable amount of storage for shopping or luggage.

How green is it?
The 3R-C is all about the future when carbon emissions will be looked upon as the nemesis of mankind because of that it runs on electricity, so doesn't pump out any pollution at all (at the wheel).

The electric motors and the batteries are fairly heavy, so the designers have mounted both low down in the chassis to keep the centre of gravity low and improve stability.