Living in the present is essential, but envisioning what the future may hold is deeply ingrained in human nature. So, what could motorcycles look like 100 years from now?
Yamaha has collaborated with the Netflix sci-fi anime series Tokyo Override, presenting its vision of what racing motorcycles of the future might look like.
The story takes place a century from now, in a world where artificial intelligence (AI) is seamlessly integrated into daily life and cities are fully automated. The narrative explores how society, its values, and technologies might evolve in a hundred years.
Enter the motorcycles – some inspired by existing models, others entirely conceptual. Yamaha’s Creative Center contributed 3D data and sound recordings of the YZF-R1 and VMAX for the series, but it also designed the futuristic Y/A concept, a racing bike of tomorrow.
The conceptual model mirrors the riding position of the MotoGP YZR-M1, emphasizing human capabilities. Despite its futuristic design, realism played a key role in its creation. In addition to its appearance in the anime, a life-sized model of the Y/A concept will be showcased later this month at the 2024 Motor Expo in Thailand.
Satoshi Nakamura, from Yamaha’s Planning Design Division, said: ‘In racing, unexpected accidents can always occur. The idea of positioning this as a means of identifying risks and finding pathways to move to a safe location is very unique, and with the added entertainment factor inherent to racing, I felt there was a sense of reality when looking at it from the perspective of what meaning racing would have 100 years from now’.