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Honda Rides High at SEMA With Twofer Concept
Grabbing attention at one of the wildest and craziest auto shows in the world is not easy, but Honda managed to grab some spotlight at the 2018 Specialty Equipment Market Association Show with its open-air, half pickup, half side-by-side ultimate off-road vehicle.
Designed for extreme desert duty, the Honda Rugged Open Air Vehicle concept was clearly created to satisfy those looking for a fun-to-drive open-air desert trailer toy with the strong-as-steel underpinnings of a mid-size pickup truck. In fact, everything underneath the concept is from a stripped and modified Ridgeline that's combined with the side-by-side design of the Honda Pioneer 1000 all-terrain vehicle — meaning doors, hood, steering wheel and a few bed modifications. The concept also boasts Civic Type R seats, complete interior sprayed with Rhino Lining, and five-point harness seatbelts; we could easily picture this running through the Baja California Desert at speed, on the beach with a lifeguard, or in the backwoods with a group of hunters.
Of course, this is a one-off concept and Honda has no plans to put it into play; however, we would suggest providing some advanced bed technology (again) could help separate and distinguish the a new Ridgeline ROAV from the growing number of mid-size pickups in the class. If we find out more (and we just might at the LA Auto Show), we'll pass it along.
The industry-only 2018 SEMA Show runs through Friday at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
