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Auto Express Car Reviews
Mazda Furai to wow Detroit
Mazda supercar leads Detroit’s winners
A hot new model from Mazda will blow into the Detroit Motor Show next week – and here are the first official pictures.
Three-rotor engine produces 450bhp, while huge rear wing provides downforce
By Sam Hardy
09th January 2008
This is the Furai, an amazing looking supercar that’s sure to draw massive crowds with its stunning lines and high-performance mid-mounted rotary engine.
Translating to ‘sound of wind’, the Furai is the fifth model to demonstrate Mazda’s new design direction, which was kicked off with the Nagare sports car at the 2006 Los Angeles Motor Show. Although officially a design study for now, elements of the Furai’s styling could be seen on forthcoming Mazda coupés, such as the next-generation RX-8.
At the front, the Furai gets a development of the same sweeping nose seen on the Taiki concept – a model which debuted at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show – and features a smooth silhouette of Mazda’s corporate grille. Simple flowing lines run from its edges to the top of the wheelarches, while the stacked headlights and air intakes on either side are divided by neat vanes.
The sweeping look is continued by a large jet fighter-style canopy and deep air intakes ahead of the rear wheels. At the back there’s a huge wing which is designed to produce plenty of downforce, dramatically curved rear wings and even more vanes on the engine cover.
The Furai was penned by Mazda’s North American design boss, Franz Von Holzhausen, and its shape was developed at the company’s styling studio in southern California in collaboration with motor racing experts at Swift Engineering.
And while most concepts simply sit on show stands, this one moves – and fast. That’s because its chassis is sourced from a racing sportsÂcar, and it’s powered by a 450bhp mid-mounted three-rotor engine which runs on environmentally friendly E100 bioethanol fuel.
Swift Engineering worked alongside Mazda’s design team to ensure proper cooling of the motor at high temperatures.
Translating to ‘sound of wind’, the Furai is the fifth model to demonstrate Mazda’s new design direction, which was kicked off with the Nagare sports car at the 2006 Los Angeles Motor Show. Although officially a design study for now, elements of the Furai’s styling could be seen on forthcoming Mazda coupés, such as the next-generation RX-8.
At the front, the Furai gets a development of the same sweeping nose seen on the Taiki concept – a model which debuted at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show – and features a smooth silhouette of Mazda’s corporate grille. Simple flowing lines run from its edges to the top of the wheelarches, while the stacked headlights and air intakes on either side are divided by neat vanes.
The sweeping look is continued by a large jet fighter-style canopy and deep air intakes ahead of the rear wheels. At the back there’s a huge wing which is designed to produce plenty of downforce, dramatically curved rear wings and even more vanes on the engine cover.
The Furai was penned by Mazda’s North American design boss, Franz Von Holzhausen, and its shape was developed at the company’s styling studio in southern California in collaboration with motor racing experts at Swift Engineering.
And while most concepts simply sit on show stands, this one moves – and fast. That’s because its chassis is sourced from a racing sportsÂcar, and it’s powered by a 450bhp mid-mounted three-rotor engine which runs on environmentally friendly E100 bioethanol fuel.
Swift Engineering worked alongside Mazda’s design team to ensure proper cooling of the motor at high temperatures.
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- Mazda Furai (428x240)
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