Yamaha has gotten into the habit of revealing some weird stuff at Japan’s Mobility Show. At last year’s event, the company revealed a strange motorcycle with no handlebars and one of the worst seats I’ve seen on a bike, maybe ever. It also showed off a three-wheeled, two-seater concept EV with all-wheel steering called the Tricera.
For the 2025 edition of the Japan Mobility Show, Yamaha is back with a new version of the Tricera. It still has three wheels, all-wheel steering, and two seats, but it also looks far more like something you could actually drive on the road, with production-looking seats, windscreens, and side mirrors. Could Yamaha be bringing the fight to Polaris and its Slingshot in the near future? Considering how production-ready this thing looks, I sure hope so.
This new Tricera, Yamaha says, is a working prototype. This leads me to believe the original version launched last year was a rolling buck with no real functionality. Giving credence to that deduction is this frankly hilarious video published by the company showing two real actors (presumably playing a mother and son) driving a CGI’d version of the Tricera through the streets of Paris, before it cuts to them driving on a beach (???), all the while showing off the trike’s three-wheel steering functionality. Even if you don’t read any more of this article, please watch this video:
The last section of the above video is what’s most relevant here, as it shows what looks like a real, working test mule being driven on a pointlessly dark, strangely lit test course, suggesting Yamaha had some concrete tech on the way (versus most modern concept cars, which have made-up specs and features you just have to imagine). This newest version of the Tricera is likely the result.
The Tricera is electrically powered, though Yamaha doesn’t mention which wheel (or wheels) get torque to the ground (or any other powertrain details, for that matter). But all of the wheels can steer, either in the same or opposite directions. It’s unclear how much angle the rear wheel can give, but it seems like a lot, going by this photo:
The company’s description of how the system works makes it sound like it has a pretty steep learning curve:
The TRICERA proto is a working prototype using a three-wheel steering system (3WS) that delivers both stimulating cornering performance and a new steering sensation-one that makes learning to master it enjoyable in itself. Focusing on the quick cornering response and mid-corner driver connection typical of all-wheel steering vehicles, the turning control system has been tuned with a human research perspective to maximize driver fun and achieve a new level of driver-machine unity.
Seems like a fun time to me, even if adding that level of steering angle to the rear probably makes driving the Tricera pretty unnatural. If you’ve ever driven anything with real rear-steer (I’m talking forklifts and propeller cars, not your dad’s new EQS), you know what I’m talking about.
Either way, I’m not sure it can match the pure joy provided by the Slingshot R. That tri-wheeled machine has a manual transmission and a four-cylinder engine that revs to 8,250 rpm. The engine also makes 204 horsepower, which is a lot for something that weighs just 1,650 pounds. I haven’t driven one, but my colleague Mercedes Streeter had a loaner back in July and loved it.
Yamaha knows sound is important when it comes to making vehicles fun, so it’s come up with something to compensate for the lack of a real engine:
The TRICERA proto also features our αlive AD sound control device, which tweaks and tunes the electric motor’s sound to amplify the excitement and further draw the driver into the experience.
There’s no weird CGI video to go along with this Tricera’s reveal, so who knows whether that noise will turn out interesting. At least it’s kept most of the design the same. The vertical center grille, which kind of reminds me of that Audi concept from last month, is still there. Two small circular headlights are shrouded by eyebrow-shaped body panels, while there are bumper blades below that protrude forward and house thin daytime-running light strips. The two-tone paint job is very Polaris-esque, but overall, it’s a smoother, less sharply angled thing. And I think I prefer it.
Not that it matters right now. Yamaha hasn’t said anything about actually building Triceras for the road. But usually, when an automaker shows off a prototype at work and then adds things like windshields and mirrors, the next step is production. Please, Yamaha, just do it. We need more weird things on the road.
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Sounds like a terrible idea for rollover risk, but I otherwise like it.
The “windshield” seems about the right height for the kid, but far too low for the adult. Goggles would HAVE to be worn to avoid wind and bugs and road debris straight into the eyes.
Two motors at the front, one at the back, torque vectoring stuff. This is hereby banned from autotesting. The unatic with th the twin enginged four wheel steer moke would loose.
Very weird video. Nothing about it says “maximize driver fun,” but at least the kid seems to be enjoying himself.
With a roof option, does it become a Triceratop?
It’s fun when Yamaha lets itself play.
Oddly enough I’m playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (I’m a few years late getting a Switch) and there is an all-wheel-steering trike in it I just discovered yesterday in “The Depths”. I wonder which came first: that or this concept.