The Honda Rugged Open Air Concept has just won SEMA

Welcome to what might be our favourite, erm, ‘thing’ revealed at this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas. And yes, that includes all those ridiculous near-1,000bhp muscle cars.

The Honda Rugged Open Air Vehicle Concept is effectively a Ridgeline pickup crossed with a Pioneer 1000 side-by-side off-road buggy. Developed by Honda’s US R&D team, it’s supposed to show us what the “ultimate off-road Honda four-wheeled vehicle would look like”, were it to become commercially available.

And boy, would we love it if that happened. The platform, suspension and (we presume) powertrain all come from the Ridgeline, while the doors come from the Pioneer. Meanwhile the truck-bed and rear quarter-panels are bespoke items modelled after the Pioneer’s.

The steering wheel is lifted from the buggy too, but modified to work with the Ridgeline’s steering column. The seats come from a Civic Type R, but have been re-trimmed in the same waterproof material you get in the Pioneer.

We think Honda would sell loads of these things, were it brave enough to put it into production. Come on guys, do us all a favour.