In 1992, Yamaha flirted with the idea of
making a sports car using Formula 1 technology with the OX99-11 V12. At the
time, the Japanese company, best known for its motorcycles, was a Formula 1
engine supplier and decided to use one of its F1 engines in a road car. It
partnered with English engineering consultancy IAD to make the car a reality,
and the OX99-11 V12 was born with a 3.5-liter V12 producing 400 hp at a
screaming 10,000 rpm and mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. The car also had
a tandem seating layout but, unfortunately, it never reached production.
Fast forward to 2020 and designer Gaspere
Conticelli has imagined what a modern successor to the stillborn supercar,
fittingly dubbed the OX-2020, could look like. Like one of the three OX99-11 V12
prototypes that were built, the OX-2020 is finished in red and has a very
unusual design. The most obvious similarity between it and its predecessor is
the split front bumper design that doubles as a wing for the front end,
producing downforce and sticking the front tires to the tarmac.
As the OX-2020 has been imagined as a
mid-engine sports car, the sides include large air intakes while there is also
a prominent roof scoop. Of particular interest is the slim cockpit that appears
to have the same tandem two-seater arrangement as the OX99-11 V12, while
similarities between the two continue at the rear, with slim cooling vents on
the engine cover and quad taillights.
