Mazda Continues The ‘Flow' Of New Design Philosophy

Anthony Fontanelle
January 17, 2008

The Mazda Motor Corp. has embraced a new design philosophy imbibed in the Nagare vehicle. The automaker zeroed in on flowing design which will become more apparent in its upcoming vehicles. The vehicles sporting the new design philosophy are expected to be mass produced by 2012.

The Japanese automaker changed course in recent years to try to keep its products fresh, said Franz von Holzhausen, the design director of Mazda's North American operations. "At Mazda, we didn't necessarily feel our cars were moving," he told a design forum audience at the Detroit Auto Show Wednesday.

With the warm acceptance of the Nagare, a Japanese word for “flow,” Mazda introduced five concept vehicles to sport the new design philosophy. One of which is the Furai concept which was launched at the North American International Auto Show this week.

The ferocious Furai is a contemporary elucidation of the rotary powered supercar. "Furai purposely blurs boundaries that have traditionally distinguished street cars from track cars. Historically, there has been a gap between single-purpose racecars and street-legal models - commonly called supercars - that emulate the real racers on the road. Furai bridges that gap like no car has ever done before," noted von Holzhausen. "It proves that this sense of Nagare philosophy is real. It's an exploration of texture."

The automaker’s highly acclaimed Nagare styling describes the flow of water, air, people or things moving in a particular direction. Furai might only be 1-metre high but is a shade over 2-metre wide and sports classic proportions, striking an undeniable presence, wrote Wheels24.

The Furai is equipped with a Courage C65 chassis which the automaker campaigned for the American Le Mans Series in 2006. Additionally, the vehicle boasts of a 335kW triple-rotor rotary engine that drives through an X-trac six-speed transmission mated to reliable paddle shifters.

With the charms of the Furai, Mazda acolytes could be looking forward for the production version of the vehicle as early as now. "You will see this design philosophy in the future," von Holzhausen said.

Another striking car from the maker of the efficient Mazda rotors is the Taiki, also introduced at the NAIAS but was previously displayed in Japan. The Furai, the Taiki and other upcoming vehicles from the esteemed Japanese automaker will continuously boost the “flow” of its new design philosophy.

Source:  Amazines.com