After writing an article of the concept car from Nissan, came among other Japanese companies, namely Mazda. A company that is becoming more successful, a brand that in 2007 sold more than 1.3 million cars annually.
Like any type of car manufacturers, and those of Mazda future projects, projects for inspiration or projects which give them “life”. Mazda is focused on making cars that achieve harmony between Mazda’s hallmark driving pleasure and environmental and safety performance. In this article you can read about the future projects of the Mazda.
Mazda Kazamai concept car
Kazamai, which means “swirling crosswinds” in Japanese, shows the design inspiration traces from the Mazda Nagare Concept. The Kazamai name was chosen to express the powerful yet nimble character of this stylish and compact crossover.
The concept is based on Mazda’s long-term vision for technology development, Sustainable Zoom-Zoom, which aims to provide a unique balance between sporty driving fun and superior environmental and safety performance. More down to earth, the car also has a five-point grille, accentuated front-wheel arches over 22-inch wheels, and a sleek roof line.
With a width of 1,930mm and a length of 4,520mm, it is slightly larger than the current Mazda3, with room for SUV comfort and functionality on the inside.
The aim was to make the Kazamai’s aerodynamics more than 10% better than other vehicles in its class, and to make more aerodynamics, the designers choose to make a flat floor panel, a rear diffuser, and a low roof line.
To reduce the bodyweight, they use aluminium alloys for the hood, chassis and engine block, and the aim is to make it 100 kilograms lighter than similar models by employing plastics for the panels, fenders and the engine cover.
The engine will be an 2.0-liter direct-injection petrol engine, which Mazda engineers are currently developing, engine which is based on the current Mazda CX-7 engine, but the future engine for Mazda Kazamai will have an advanced technologies to minimize energy loss and vastly improved thermal efficiency, including combustion control technology and variable valve control.
Also the engine will be coupled with six-speed automatic transmission, and the aim for this combination is to deliver an estimated 30 percent improvement in fuel consumption.
Active safety features include roll stability control, blind spot monitoring to assist lane change, a pre-crash safety system and advanced dynamic stability control (DSC) to support the driver.
Technical Specifications
- Overall length 4,520 mm
- Overall width 1,930 mm
- Dimensions Overall height 1,500 mm
- Wheelbase 2,780 mm
- Seating capacity: 4 people
- Engine Type Next-generation 2.0L DISI petrol
- Transmission Type Next-generation 6AT
- Suspension Type
- - Front: McPherson Strut,
- - Rear : Multi-link
- Tire Type 265/45 R22 Bridgestone
Mazda Kiyora concept car
Mazda Kiyora follows the Nagare design theme and also water was selected as a theme for this concept. The name of this car is Kiyora, name that meaning “clean and pure” in Japanese. The concept car is based on an all-new platform that will be designed to reduce weight allowing it to be more fuel-efficient, and we can say that the car is a small, eco-friendly city car. To reduce the weight of the car, the designers use for Kiyora an extremely rigid and lightweight carbon-fibre body structure beneath a small, aerodynamic outer skin and a spirited, small-displacement 1.3-liter direct-injection engine.
The main technologies used on the Kiyora are the SKY Drive transmission and the SKY-G direct injected gasoline engine. The idea behind the SKY Drive is to reduce friction as much as possible, install a more efficient torque converter and clutch, and to speed up that clutch’s shift time. The result is an efficient but responsive transmission that won’t disappoint.
Because the car is designed as response to urban traffic, Smart Idle Stop System (SISS) is a system developed by Mazda engineers. Mazda’s SISS saves fuel by automatically shutting down the engine when the vehicle is stationary, and achieves a quick and quiet restart for stress free driving. The system injects a small amount of fuel directly into the engine’s cylinders and ignites it to generate downward piston force which, with the aid of an electric motor, rapidly returns the engine to idle speed.
The compact hatchback offers some green features like 75 miles per gallon fuel efficiency, SKY-DRIVE six-speed automatic transmission, i stop, regenerative braking and weight reduction of 100 kg than the others in listings. The transmission has a direct feel and will allow the car to achieve fuel efficiency similar to that of a manual transmission, with CO2 emissions under 90g/km.
Technical Specifications
- Body type Three-door hatchback
- Dimensions Overall length 3,770 mm
- Overall width 1,685 mm
- Overall height 1,350 mm
- Wheelbase 2,495 mm
- Seating 2 + 2
- Engine Type Next generation MZR 1.3-litre DISI petrol with smart idle stop system
- Transmission Type Next-generation 6-speed AT
- with manual shift
- Suspension (Front/Rear) Type MacPherson strut/Torsion beam
- Tires Type 215/45 R18
DISI: direct injection spark ignition
Mazda Furai concept car
The concept car is called Furai, name that meaning “sound of the wind” in Japanese, and designer Franz von Holzhausen says it’s supposed to look like streamers fluttering in the wind.
Furai takes Mazda’s unique Nagare (Japanese for “flow”) design language a step further as it is translated into a concept car based on an American Le Mans Series (ALMS) racing car. The engine will provide 458 horsepower, and is an engine with three-rotor Mazda 20B rotary engine fueled by E100 ethanol, the first rotary to do so.
According to Mazda the real beauty of the project is in the details that von Holzhausen and his team incorporated in Furai. The body surface provides ample opportunity to feature core design elements such as aggressive headlamps and Mazda’s trademark five-point grille. The headlamp trim pieces function as guide frames to help cancel aerodynamic lift. High-pressure zones just above the front wheels are relieved to serve the same end. The air flow package takes air moving under the front of the car and guides it inside the body to the engine-cooling radiators. Nagare textures incorporated in the side surfaces feed air to the rear brakes, the oil cooler and the transmission cooler.
Sourced straight from the race track, the Courage carbon-composite tub is essentially intact under the new Furai body, including the right-side driver’s seat. Instead of the stark interior typical of race cars though, this cockpit is finished with more comfortable but still highly functional surfaces. An electronic display screen and shift paddles are built into the steering wheel.
Mazda Taiki concept car
Mazda Taiki continues the evolution of the Nagare design theme, following in the footsteps of the Mazda Nagare, Mazda Ryuga, and Mazda Hakaze concept vehicles. The unusual shape of the Mazda Taiki concept is based around a front-engine rear-wheel drive layout. The short overhangs and glass canopy are designer dreams, and Mazda asserts that the concept’s exterior lines are inspired by wind flowing through a Hagoromo, the “flowing robes that enable a celestial maiden to fly.”
Inspired by Japanese koinobori – the decorative “climbing carp streamers”– the notion of creating an Air-tube became the concept word for the interior design. In accordance, from the dashboard and seats down to the door trim, the interior space creates the dynamic sensation that the flow of the wind is being visually depicted.
The new Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid is equipped with a transverse hydrogen rotary engine, featuring Mazda’s hydrogen/gasoline dual-fuel system. The hybrid system efficiently converts energy from hydrogen combustion to electricity and uses it to power the motor. This vehicle promotes practical use thanks to an extended hydrogen-fueled range, and enhanced driving performance and packaging.
Compared with the Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE, the new Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid yields 40% better output, resulting in enhanced acceleration performance and an extended hydrogen-fueled range of about 200km, or twice that of the RX-8 Hydrogen RE.
Mazda Nagare concept car
Mazda Nagare, a concept car from Mazda, and his name mean “flow” in Japanese. Described as a “Concept of a Concept”, it is the North American Design Studios answer to a challenge posed by Laurens van der Acker, Mazdas chief of design. When this concept car was released on media, the chief of design says that “we’re looking well down the road with Nagare. We want to suggest where Mazda design will be in 2020. To do that, we redefined basic proportions and the idea of driving without losing the emotional involvement“.
Like all Mazda products, Nagare has the soul of a sports car. Its shape is sleek and aerodynamically efficient, as you’d expect of an urban cruiser for the future. Wheels are positioned at the far corners of the envelope for quick steering response and agile maneuverability. There isn’t an ounce of overhang wasted.
Access to the four-place interior is provided by two double-length doors that hinge forward and up like the wings of a butterfly. The driver is centrally located, like a single-seat sports racer, for optimum control and visibility. Since the driver is positioned under the highest portion of the roof, there’s ample headroom with a comfortably reclined backrest. Innovative seating arrangements are a Mazda specialty, as witnessed by the successful RX-8 four-passenger sports car and the clever packaging in the CX-9 three-row, seven-passenger crossover sport-utility vehicle.
The engine for Nagare will be an engine hydrogen-fueled version of the hallmark rotary engine. Mazda currently runs a small fleet of hydrogen-powered RX-8s in Japan; the research involved could pay dividends in the form of a road-going variant of the Nagare.
I have a Mazda 3, and I’m very impressed about what can do this car. Mazda build great cars and I like his projects.