Honda Rugged Open Air Vehicle Concept is a Ridgeline-based Baja runner

Honda doesn’t have an off-road truck to compete with the likes of the
Ford Raptor or the
Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, but this concept vehicle is a step in the right direction. Just revealed at
SEMA, Honda’s brawny “Rugged Open Air Vehicle Concept” is a cross between the
Honda Ridgeline and the
Honda Pioneer 1000 side-by-side. Honda calls it the “ultimate open-air off-road Honda adventure vehicle,” and we agree that it looks the part.

Some of the specifics are a bit vague from Honda, but the truck uses a heavily modified Ridgeline body and suspension. The interior is Ridgeline-based — there are a lot of hard points similar to our
long-term Ridgeline. The shape of the dash and the footwell area seem nearly identical, and the instrument cluster hasn’t changed one iota. Honda doesn’t mention the engine it uses, but the safe guess would be the 3.5-liter V6 out of the donor truck. If that’s the case, then this truck is probably mighty fast given all of the parts removed.

There are plenty of components donated from the Pioneer 1000, too. Production Pioneer doors fit right up, and Honda modified the bed and tailgate from it for duty here. A Pioneer steering wheel was mounted on the Ridgeline steering column as well. The interior has a few other cool features too like full weatherproofing for the outdoor elements. Our favorite part is the reskinned
Civic Type R seats. Those svelte buckets look perfect for some serious sand dune destruction. A couple RAM smartphone holder mounts round out the interior modifications.

Skid plates and cladding are everywhere, with much of the design being borrowed from Pioneer 1000 styling, just blown up to truck size. It feels a bit like a Baja family truck. Chuck the kids in the rear seats, tenting gear in the bed, and point it into the desert. Sadly, it’s a concept vehicle, but that doesn’t make us want to go bombing around off-road in it any less.

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