2003 Mitsubishi CZ2 Cabriolet Concept
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation chose to launch into the 2003 Spring / Summer season with style, unveiling its CZ2 Cabriolet concept at the 2003 Geneva Auto Show.
Heir of MMC´s first show car – the 1962 Colt 600 Convertible, CZ2 Cabriolet is a proposal for a casual chic open top runabout. It will also be the newest NCC* inspired concept, a line inaugurated last year by Mitsubishi Motors with the acclaimed CZ2 hatchback and CZ3 Tarmac sports wagon and continued this year with Tarmac Spyder.
Warm, elegant and inviting
Elegantly styled yet sharp, this full 4-seater will discard the all-too common retractable steel roof for a flush-fitting canvas top: a more romantic reminder of true cabriolet spirit. As such, it also embodies the concept key words of minimal, soft, light, flexible while serving the simple and purist ‘One-Motion-Shape’ profile. Moreover, it offers a better packaging solution with full accommodation for 4 passengers as well as a generous luggage space.
Just as all Mitsubishi Motors concept cars since 2001 and all its new production cars, CZ2 Cabriolet displays the new brand visual identity with its twin grilles each side of a dihedron, staging the Three-Diamond and extending itself on to the hood with a very dynamic spine. Additionally, for this concept, MMC has chosen LED technology for the headlights, providing a striking effect.
With its long ( 2,500 mm ) wheelbase and the traditionally elegant hard-top look provided by the four retractable windows, CZ2 Cabriolet offers a pure profile unknown of the current sub-compact convertibles. Its very long doors are equipped with special hinges for wide opening, allowing easy ingress and egress as the rear seat can be accessed with minimum forward folding of the front seat backs and without sliding the whole front seat forward.
At the back, a double hinged rear hatch is used for storage of the automatically folding roof and for access to the trunk. The opening is controlled and integrated in the upper diamond of the Three-Diamond logo.
LED lamps are used at the rear as well, combined with integrated rear-view camera for parking assistance. Indirect lighting inside outer door handles helps ergonomics in the dark.
A warm, open an inviting automobile, CZ2 Cabriolet is dressed in green-tinted silver, enriched with a polychrome orange shimmering color flop, by addition of a mica effect pigment. This orange pigment adds warmth to the body, creating a nice color scheme with the terra cotta shade of the cloth selected for the canvas top.
Living Space
Inside, there will be no disruption for the four passengers as color and trim will carry the same natural, casual, chic feeling.
A neutral and warm pastel light green is used as the main color oozing natural organic tranquillity. This ambiance is lighten up with terra cotta accents on bags, center console, buttons and switches. A warm silver is also applied, mainly on frame parts for technical appeal.
In line with the notion of ‘Japanese Modern’, interior materials blend technical and natural. In this respect, fabrics are simple, comfortable and practical. Along those lines, the surface of the dashboard is smooth with reduced graining. Seating material is a combination of thick and thin yarns to accentuate the texture, mimicking Japanese basket weave. Seat pads are surrounded by light green bolster textile, giving the impression of linen with waterproof treatment. In order to contrast to natural elements, a technical elastic material was selected for the bags.
The Mandarina Duck connection
Like for the 2001 CZ2 and its door trim panels housing removable handbags, CZ2 Cabriolet does with a clever and stylish arrangement designed in collaboration with the famous, innovative and quality Italian fashion house Mandarina Duck, blending de facto the best creative from Japan and Europe.
In the case of CZ2 Cabriolet, four stylish bags have been neatly integrated in the door trim panels ( two in each door ), to be used either as in-car storage or removable carry-on bags.
Each door accommodates one big bag for utmost flexibility : they can be used as shoulder bags with a long strap, carry bags with hand strap, hip pouches and also shopping bags when opened.The second bag, of smaller size, can be used as a shoulder bag as well as a back pack, with inside pulled out.
Furthermore, passengers of CZ2 Cabriolet will also be able to relax with two pillows with fixing points to the rear seats, enclosing blankets.
Dynamic performance
No matter the sophistication of the design and of all appointments, CZ2 Cabriolet does reflect the dynamic performance of proper Mitsubishi Motors products.
It starts with a sure footed chassis, aided by the 2,500 mm long wheelbase, the wide tracks, the short overhangs for a wheel at each corner effect , the low center of gravity.
Sharp handling is served by MMCs 1.5-liter MIVEC1 engine that delivers an excellent balance between high output and low fuel consumption and emissions. Optimization of the intake port design and of the MIVEC intake valve timing across the full operating range results in stress-free dynamic performance and miserly fuel consumption from low to high engine speeds.
In parallel, torque is transmitted to the wheels via Mitsubishi’s INVECS-III Sport Mode 6-speed CVT. This smart transmission uses INVECS-II logic circuitry and the CVT’ s right-gear-always capability to achieve Optimal Shift Control and Adaptive Shift Control. As a result, the car is always in the ideal gear for any engine load or situation, and delivers responsive acceleration and engine braking characteristics tailored to the individual driver. The CVT also incorporates six fixed pulley diameters, enabling the driver to operate the transmission as a manual box and select her / his gear of choice using thumb-operated selectors on the steering wheel. The selectors permit rapid shifting through the gears without ever having to remove a hand from the wheel.
Story by Mitsubishi Motor Corporation
In Detail
| submitted by | Richard Owen |
| engine | Inline-4 |
| valvetrain | DOHC, 4 Valves per Cyl w/MIVEC |
| displacement | 1500 cc / 91.5 in³ |
| driven wheels | FWD |
| f brake size | mm / in |
| r brake size | mm / in |
| wheelbase | 2500 mm / 98.4 in |
| length | 3950 mm / 155.5 in |
| width | 1750 mm / 68.9 in |
| height | 1480 mm / 58.3 in |
| transmission | INVECS-III Continuously Variable |
| gear ratios | :1 |
