Honda P-NUT: Fantasy Urban Transport Concept

The Los Angeles auto show opens this week and on the wilder side of concept cars that will be debuted, the Honda P-NUT (Personal-Neo Urban Transport) looks to take the pure fantasy award.

The concept aims to be small and suited to the demands of urban driving. The three seater features a layout where the driver sits in the center flanked by the rear passengers. The rear passenger seats fold away to open up space for cargo. This triangular layout makes the best use of space and influences the exterior styling of the car. Crisp lines originate from the front of the vehicle and fan out towards the rear. The centered windshield serves as a heads-up display for the driver.

The modular rear engine bay, depicted on the exterior by blue composite material, is designed to accommodate a wide variety of potential propulsion technologies including a conventional small displacement internal combustion engine, a hybrid gasoline-electric powertrain, or a battery-electric powertrain.

We’ve seen this angular design language appear on previous Honda concept cars and current production models like the Civic. Whether Honda decides to proceed with developing the P-NUT remains to be seen. Certainly the concept will need a few additional items like bumpers, side mirrors, and larger lights in order to make it in the real world.

[via honda]