Yamaha has taken a little time away from building motorcycles, boats and musical instruments (although we know the Japanese brand has also dabbled in the world of four wheels before) to create this frankly intriguing little Cross Hub concept.

Revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show, the concept is billed as a “lifestyle car”. Of course, we’d describe it as a quirky little bakkie. Whip out your measuring tape and you’ll find it is 4 490 mm long (for reference, that's exactly the same length as a Suzuki Ciaz sedan), 1 960 mm wide and 1 750 mm tall.

The firm says the concept’s body size is suitable for use either on- or off-road while still being highly manoeuvrable in the city, and still having sufficient utility to transport, well, whatever you happening to be hauling (particularly if they happen to be other Yamaha products).

While the load bay can carry “up to two motorcycles”, it’s the seating layout that is perhaps most interesting. You see, the diamond-shaped cabin sees the driver’s seat positioned forward in the centre (McLaren F1, anyone?), with the three passenger seats surrounding it from behind.

No word yet from Yamaha about whether it is considering putting the Cross Hub concept into production, nor about exactly what powers this show car.