2008 Mazda Furai Concept
HIROSHIMA, Japan, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ — Mazda Motor Corporation will showcase the world premieres of the Mazda Furai concept vehicle and the heavily revised 2009 Mazda RX-8 sports car at the 2008 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), to be held in Detroit from Sunday, January 13 through Sunday, January 27, 2008. On the heels of its show-stopping debut at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show in October, the Mazda Taiki concept vehicle also will make its North American debut, the first time it has been shown outside Japan.
Mazda Furai — ‘Sound of the wind’
Inspired by the fact that, on any given weekend, there are more Mazdas and Mazda-powered cars road-raced in the United States than any other brand, the Mazda Furai (Japanese for “sound of the wind” and pronounced “fu-rye”) is the sort of car that could only come from a company that incorporates the “Soul of a Sports Car” into everything it builds, but with an eye toward the future and the environment through the use of 100% ethanol produced in partnership with British Petroleum (BP).
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 car utilizes the Courage C65 chassis the company campaigned in the ALMS series only two seasons ago, and the 450-hp three-rotor rotary engine that distinguishes it from anything else on the track.
Says Franz von Holzhausen, Mazda’s North American director of design, “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.”
Mazda’s critically acclaimed Nagare design language describes the flow of water, air, people or things moving in one direction. Mazda Nagare is flow, with an insightful and spirited styling, which, in Mazda Furai, invokes a raw, unfettered desire to possess everything this car represents.
In Detail
| submitted by | Richard Owen |
| type | Concept / Prototype Car |
| released at | 2008 NAIAS |
| body stylist | Franz von Holzhausen |
| engine | Renesis R20B Tripple Rotary |
| position | Mid, Longitudinal |
| power | 335.6 kw / 450 bhp |
| body / frame | Courage C65 Carbon Fiber Monocoque |
| driven wheels | RWD |
| front brakes | Carbon Discs |
| rear brakes | Carbon Discs |
| steering | Rack & Pinion w/Power Assist |
| f suspension | Double Wishbones w/Coil-over-Dampers |
| r suspension | Double Wishbones w/Coil-over-Dampers |
