Yamaha almost built its very own supercar back in
the early 1990s and you’ve probably never even heard about it. The car, dubbed the Yamaha
OX99-11 V12, was made by Yamaha subsidiary Ypsilon Technology a few years after
the motorcycle manufacturer entered Formula One as an engine supplier.
Yamaha initially approached a German company to
build the car but was unimpressed with the company’s work and contacted English
engineering consultancy IAD to continue work on the vehicle. A number of
disagreements between Yamaha and IAD saw the project moved exclusively to
Yamaha’s Ypsilon Technology division but poor financial conditions in Japan
made the car impossible to build and sell. In total, just three prototypes were
ever made and one of them is now for sale.
The car is powered by a 3.5-liter
naturally-aspirated V12 engine pumping out 440 hp and revving to a dizzying
10,000 rpm. This engine was mated to a six-speed manual transmission driving
the rear wheels.
Certainly the most intriguing aspect of the OX99-11
V12 is its design. In keeping with Yamaha’s motorcycle expertise, the car was
designed with a one-plus-one seating layout, resulting in a very thin and tall
cockpit. The car is also very small in stature, has a tiny wheelbase and weighs
just 1150 kg. If it ever reached the production line, we imagine it
would have been one of the finest performance cars on the market at the time.
The example currently for sale from JP Motor is
apparently worth around US$ 1.3 million.
