Motor Trend sneaks a ride in Ken Okuyama’s K.O 7 Roadster

Filed under: Concept Cars, Convertible, Performance, Specialty

Ken Okuyama K.O 7 Roadster – Click above for high-res image gallery

We were awestruck by this car at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show and have been thinking about it ever since. We’ve wondered aloud what it would be like to drive designer Ken Okuyama’s beautiful K.O 7 Roadster, and now, thanks to Motor Trend, we have an idea. The buff book recently got to spend some time with Mr. Okuyama and the 1,740-pound topless sportscar.

The K.0 7 Roadster is powered by a 210-horsepower, 1.8-liter Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine, which has been bored out to a full 2.0 liters. In their testing, M/T recorded a 0-60 time of five seconds flat. More importantly, they also state that the butterfly-doored bantamweight is “heroic in the twisties” and is more fun to drive than a Lotus Elise R, a car with which the K.0 7 shares modified underpinnings.

The former Design Director for Pininfarina, Ken Okuyama is part of the team that brought us the Ferrari Enzo as well as the Maserati Quattroporte and Birdcage Concept. The K.0 7 Roadster is Okuyama’s vision of melding the craftsmanship and precision found in fine watches with the heart and soul of a lightweight sportscar. Okuyama is only looking to build a few of these per year, but at a price of around 0,000, the K.0 7 was never going to be a mass-production piece. Low-volume also means flexibility, however, and Okuyama admits he is looking at even more powerful engines from Cosworth, or perhaps the powertrain from the dearly departed Honda S2000.

Sign us up.

Gallery: K07 Live from Japan