Kawasaki is putting the four-legged Corleo concept into production!
Kawasaki’s Corleo looks like a sci-fi concept, but the firm is serious about turning its four-legged, hydrogen-powered robot into a real off-road mobility machine.
Kawasaki is pressing ahead with development of Corleo, the four-legged, hydrogen-powered ride-on robot that was first unveiled at Expo 2025 in Osaka. And while it still looks more like a sci-fi concept than a showroom product, the company now has a clear plan for the public to use it at Expo 2030, Riyadh.
The move marks the beginning of one of the wildest concepts from a large-scale manufacturer in decades, with Kawasaki pushing one step further still, eyeing commercialisation by 2035.
Corleo is being pitched as an off-road personal mobility vehicle, although that description barely scratches the surface. In simple terms, it’s a robotic platform you sit on and steer by shifting your body weight, much like riding a horse or a motorcycle. Kawasaki says it’s only possible because the company spans both motorcycle engineering and advanced robotics – and this is where the two collide.
To show it’s more than a showpiece, Kawasaki has set up a dedicated internal unit, the SAFE ADVENTURE Business Development Team, reporting directly to the company president. The immediate aim is to have Corleo operating as on-site transport at the Riyadh World Expo, moving people around the venue across terrain that would normally be awkward or inaccessible.
Alongside the machine itself, Kawasaki is developing a full riding simulator, due by 2027. This will use motion data and 3D models gathered during Corleo’s development to recreate the riding experience. Unsurprisingly, Kawasaki is already eyeing up secondary uses, including gaming and e-sports, which tells you how digitally focused the project really is.
Corleo also sits at the heart of Kawasaki’s wider “SAFE ADVENTURE” concept, which aims to reduce accidents in mountainous and remote areas. Beyond the vehicle, the company is working on a navigation system that monitors weather, temperature, surface conditions and even wildlife activity, then feeds route guidance to devices like smartphones. The idea is that advanced mobility and real-time data work together to keep riders out of trouble.
From a technical standpoint, Corleo borrows heavily from motorcycle thinking. The four-legged layout delivers off-road ability that wheels can’t match, while a swingarm-style mechanism allows the rear legs to move independently to absorb impacts. Kawasaki claims this helps keep the rider stable and able to read the terrain ahead, rather than being bounced around.
Control is handled through body movement, with electronic assistance layered in to make it accessible to inexperienced users. Kawasaki says this means almost anyone could traverse rough ground, including mountains and shallow water, without the kind of specialist skills it takes years to hone on two wheels.
Power comes from hydrogen, with Corleo using a hydrogen ICE engine to generate electricity, sitting neatly with Kawasaki’s long-standing push to use hydrogen across its business.
Whether Corleo ever becomes a common sight outside expos remains an open question. It’s complex, wildly niche and still a decade away from commercial reality. And it still might not be as useful in the wilderness as the brand’s recently announced KLE500!
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!