Mazda Hakaze Concept Revealed

Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Market Inspiration
Page 3: Exterior Design
Page 4: Interior Design
Page 5: Powertrain, Chassis & Specs

Introduction

Mazda Hakaze – Kite-Surfing Functionality

Kite-surfers are “wind chasers.” They get up in the morning, switch on their computer and search for the right wind conditions on the Internet for the best place to surf, call their friends, grab their gear and go. Mazda Hakaze meets the needs of such a lifestyle in several ways. For example, part of Hakaze’s centre tunnel in the boot slides rearwards and out of the car, to which a kite-surfboard can be attached, slid back in and transported. On the inside is an Internet connection on the integrated LCD screen in front of the front passenger. A small digital camera is mounted in the LCD screen, which can be rotated to film the road or the people in the car. The idea is that you can film a nice surfing spot or the route to it, then share it afterwards with your friends. The concept’s boot also has a practical double floor construction on both sides of the centre tunnel in the boot, whose underside is made of rubber making it ideal for transporting wet and sandy items. And finally, most of the switches in the car are sensors that are under the surface, meaning there are no shut lines. This prevents water or sand from getting into the switches and makes cleaning the vehicle on the inside easier as well.

Nagare Design - A New Expression of Movement

Last year Mazda wowed the show car world with a trilogy of design concepts that were talked about on three continents. From Europe’s Sassou show car with its unique Shoji design principle and hidden features, to Tokyo Motor Show’s Mazda Senku concept car, winner of the Grand Prix du Plus Beau Concept Car at the XXIst Festival Automobile International in 2006 in Paris, to North America’s sports car study Mazda Kabura, winner of the Detroit Motor Show’s Aesthetic and Innovation Award –Mazda Motor Corporation wrote another chapter in its global reputation for eye-catching, Zoom-Zoom designing.
The new show car season features four concepts from Mazda that express a new design language called Nagare, (pronounced na-ga-reh) developed by Mazda’s new global design director, Laurens van den Acker. The word Nagare means “flow” and “the embodiment of movement” in Japanese and applying it to car design involved analyzing motion itself and how forces like wind and water move in nature. Natural flow lines are all around us –wind blowing shapes in sand, wave forms seen from above –and are literally symbolic of movement itself. Nagare, then, is the application of natural flow to automotive design that combines surface language and proportion to communicate movement in a new way.
“Through the success of the current generation of cars, Zoom-Zoom has managed to focus our company and delight our customers at the same time. Nagare builds on this newly regained confidence and gives it a unique and distinctive identity”, says Laurens van den Acker.
Its first expressions were the Mazda Nagare concept car presented last November at the LA Auto Show, and the Mazda Ryuga, which premiered at the Detroit Motor Show this January. Both Mazda concepts are an evolving expression of Zoom-Zoom, inspired by the movement of nature’s elements –Mazda Nagare’s surface articulation was inspired by geological flow patterns, and Mazda Ryuga’s side body texture was inspired by Karesansui, or Japanese raked gardens. Both evoke energy and lightness, translated into a beautiful language of lines and forms that are powerful yet effortless, simple yet strikingly seductive.

Now Nagare is coming to Europe with this season’s third all-new concept car, the Mazda Hakaze, which was designed at Mazda’s European Design Centre near Frankfurt, Germany. Mazda Hakaze is a compact crossover coupe with roadster feel. It combines the best attributes of three traditional types of cars. Part of its roof is removable, which gives a feel similar to a roadster; it is agile and fun to drive like a compact hatchback, and it has a high hip point and interior functionality like a compact SUV. It expresses Nagare “flow” on the outside with sand-dune like surface iteration, and combines these with shapes from machines that move through water or air. On the inside, it boasts “flowing”Nagare forms, natural surfaces and insightful functionality to meet the demands of adventurous lifestyles like kite-surfing.

“Nagare is expressed in the Mazda Hakaze, not only in the iteration on the side of the car, but also in a lot of the details,” says Peter Birtwhistle, Chief Designer, Mazda Motor Europe.”If you look at things like the execution of the wheel design, the spokes have a nice flow in terms of the way they move, the way the surfaces move, the way they integrate into the tyre design. The interior too. The basic form of the interior is like looking at sand dunes. It’s got all this movement, winds blowing. I find that inspirational in terms of trying to find a new way of expressing design. Of course, you have to think about functionality. But Mazda is all about emotion. And this is emotion.”

Related entries:

Mazda Nagare Concept Revealed
Mazda Ryuga Concept Unveiled
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