• The 1981 Honda Motocompo fits in the mid-engined Acura NSX trunk.
  • The folding scooter was originally designed for the City hatchback.
  • However, you do need to drain the bike’s fluids in order to avoid spills.

Honda’s reputation for interior packaging is hard-won, decades in the making, but few had thought to test it quite like this. Could the company’s suitcase-shaped scooter fit in the trunk of its mid-engined supercar? Someone went and tried it. The result is oddly satisfying to watch, though the fit does not come free of compromise.

The experiment belongs to Chris Scott, an NSX owner based in York, England. At a local JDM gathering he found a fellow enthusiast with a Honda Motocompo and decided to see whether the two would cooperate.

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The Motocompo arrived in 1981, conceived as an accessory that folded into the boot of the original Honda City hatchback. The NSX came nearly a decade later, in 1990, and its 154 lt (5.4 cubic feet) of cargo space was never designed with a folding motorcycle in mind. That gap is exactly what made Scott curious.

As it turns out, a folded Motocompo slides in behind the NSX’s mid-mounted V6 without any modifications or awkward shoving against the carpet lining. The secret is laying the bike on its side, rather than standing it upright as it would sit in the boot of the City hatchback, which came with built-in anchor nuts and a dedicated belt to keep it in place.

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For those wondering, he Motocompo measures 1.185 meters (46.7 inches) long with a dry weight of 42 kg (92.6 lbs). Power comes from a tiny 49cc air-cooled two-stroke good for all of 2.5 horsepower.

To let it lie flat in a cargo area without making a mess, Honda engineered dedicated leak-prevention mechanisms. That doesn’t make it fully leak-proof, however, which is why the NSX owner drained the fluids before attempting the unconventional pairing.

Another video posted by NSX and Motocompo owner Dominic Dubreuil proves why draining the fluids is more of a necessity. When Dom placed the bike on its side, it started leaking, forcing him to cancel the operation and save his NSX from a messy trunk.

Either way, there’s something satisfying about knowing the Motocompo and the NSX are a potential match, even if the pairing demands a bit of prep work before and after the trip.

Anyone after a cleaner solution has one. Honda has offered the fully electric Motocompacto since 2023, and it folds into an even smaller suitcase. That makes it compact enough to slot into the 110 lt (4.4 cubic feet) boot of the modern NSX, at least on paper.