Inside the Mazda Design Forum 2010

HIROSHIMA, JAPAN – When Mazda released its first passenger car, the R360 Coupe in 1960, it quickly gained international recognition for its minimalist form and great practicality. It did so again with the 1978 RX-7. Then again with the 1989 MX-5 Miata. And yet again with the RX-8 of just a few years back – coupes and sports cars that were as impressive for their relative attainability as they were for their pioneering designs.

No surprise, really, coming from a car company that has historically given aesthetics more than the usual attention – and a lot more passion – than other carmakers have.

Today, Mazda boasts some of the most inspired designers working in one of the most forward-thinking design facilities in the world. Mazda’s state-of-the-art design headquarters in Hiroshima is equipped with virtual visualisation technologies, including a large digital display for design work using life-size vehicle images to help advance the digital design process.

For half a century, Mazda Design has consistently gone beyond the usual focus of traditional design; instead setting out to evoke a sense of excitement in every car. Their designers breathe life into their cars and endow them with true emotional character.

Mazda has defined this instantaneous movement, filled with vitality and the stirring of the emotions – as the ultimate form of motion – as kodo or “soul of motion.” Kodo will be incorporated into all Mazda designs, to express a faster, more forceful movement.

Embodying kodo is the new Mazda Shinari, a breathtakingly shapely four-door, four-seat sports coupe. The Japanese word shinari describes the powerful yet supple appearance of an animal as it flexes its body to generate a fast movement. The Shinari expresses the powerful movement of a lean body with toned muscles, supple but at the same time filled with tension.

Yasushi Nakamuta, the chief designer who led the design of the third-generation Mazda MX-5, conceptualized the Shinari. “The challenge for us was to create an innovative new expression for energetic and powerful movement. We began by developing the design around the image of a predator as it strikes at its prey, or the stabbing movement in kendo (Japanese sword-fighting) to express the instant where accumulated force is released,” Nakamuta said at the Forum held at Mazda headquarters in this historic city.

Indeed the Shinari looks ready to leap at any moment. The strong backbone running through the body, the sudden release of pent-up energy, and the interplay of beautiful, supple movements are all expressed in its form.

The distinctive front fenders represent the further evolution of the prominent fenders introduced in the RX-8 and now seen in cars like the Mazda6 and CX-7. They emphasize the front wheels and accentuate the dynamic movement expressed in the side of the body in a style that is both sporty and elegant. Character lines flow rearward from the front fenders and meet those traveling forward from the rear fenders in a multi-layered effect, creating an image of a pouncing cheetah’s muscles tensing and uncoiling. It’s as if the car is in perpetual motion.

The three-dimensional sculpting of Mazda’s trademark pentagonal grille proudly emphasizes the brand’s lineage. A powerful line of movement originates at the grille and continues through the hood, fender, front headlamps and bumper. In particular the floating bar, which links the grille with the headlights, is a three-dimensional expression of speed, an accent that represents a new signature element for Mazda. For the headlights, Mazda’s designers have created a headlamp structure with no outer lens, exposing the deep-set lights and suggesting the eyes of a wild animal about to pounce on its prey.

The sleek shape is as functional as it is aesthetic. Aerodynamic performance was a major priority, and car’s lower sections are designed to optimize the airflow along the underbody. The flared line that connects the front bumper with the side sills and rear bumper also streamlines the airflow along the body for lower drag. The sliver-like side mirrors replace mirrors with camera lenses that feed video images to a dash-mounted monitor. Sleek.

For the finish, a luminous metallic blue has been chosen to convey an image of hard metal. The strong yet elaborate brilliance of the highlights combines with the clearly defined contrast of the shadows to create a balance between the sharp, three-dimensional form and the appearance of surfaces bending and transforming.

While the exterior design can be appreciated through motion, the interior is experienced in a static, seated position. Entering the vehicle, the eye is immediately drawn to the driver-focused cockpit. The highlight of the cabin is a surfacing between the upper and the lower instrument panel which is contrasted by crisp surface edges, soft leathers, and precision mechanical details. Interior craftsmanship is characterized by the use of bright trim work integrated along the cockpit’s perimeter and accentuating the sensation of speed.

The principle of “dedicated driving ergonomics” is further reflected in the car’s next-generation Human Machine Interface (HMI). The availability of smaller electronic components has allowed Shinari’s designers to create a floating HMI 3D display. The system offers three modes: Business, Pleasure and Sport.

The Business mode enables the driver to stay connected to his workday tasks. In Pleasure mode, the focus is on comfort and entertainment, allowing the driver to tailor the interior mood creating a relaxed atmosphere. In Sport mode the driving setup is changed: the paddle shifter is activated, suspension settings are tuned for performance driving, and controls are simplified allowing the driver to focus solely on driving.

No word was given as to what powerplant propels this groundbreaking new Mazda. Is it a turbocharged four-cylinder like the one found in the Mazdaspeed Mazda3? A big V6 from the CX-9? Or a high-performance rotary engine like those found in the RX-7 and RX-8? Its Japanese designers would only smile at us when asked this question, preferring to answer only by saying that it will deliver performance that is totally in keeping with the promise of the design.

Of course, it also helps to remember that the Shinari is a concept car and not a production-bound one. It raison d’ etre is to define the look for future Mazdas. If the Shinari is any indication of the upcoming cars from Hiroshima, then Mazda fans will be wearing broad smiles on their faces as they zoom-zoom along the streets.