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Mazda Kazamai Concept

Tags: concept cars, mazda, moscow 2008 Published on 27 August 2008 | 9,653 views

New information and images on the Kazamai Concept, the compact crossover unveiled by Mazda at the Moscow Motor Show, including a set of design sketches and photos from the design process.

Designed with the Russian compact SUV segment in mind, Kazamai gives a glimpse at where Mazda is heading with a possible future compact crossover.

It is based on the brand's ‘Sustainable Zoom-Zoom' and Nagare design philosophies and combines driving fun with high energy efficiency and low emissions.

From the official Press Release:

Design

Mazda Kazamai means “swirling crosswinds” in Japanese, and was chosen to express the powerful yet nimble character of this stylish and compact crossover.

Kazamai is dynamic and athletic looking on the outside and displays an evolved Nagare ‘flow’ design.

Unlike previous concept cars, Mazda Kazamai’s styling represents powerful natural movements that are emotionally expressed through three-dimensional motifs stretching over the whole body, representing a fusion of design and functionality.

Mazda Kazamai is an impressive combination of packaging requirements and design aesthetics.

With a width of 1,930 mm and a length of 4,520 mm, it is slightly larger than the current Mazda3, with room for SUV comfort and functionality on the inside.

Yet, because it is only 1,500 mm high, has a flat roofline and very short rear overhangs, it also has a sporty coupe look with the promise of driving fun.

The innovative body design features flared fenders that emphasize SUV-like strength and a cabin befitting a sports car.

The wedgeshaped profile was designed to evoke the image of a sleek arrow cutting through a mighty wind. In particular, the body design between the front wheel arches and the roof pillars is intended to express the agility and dynamism of wind gusting along the side of the vehicle.

The panel lines on the sides represent swift and elegant crosswinds, further accentuating the dynamic and stylish body design.

The bonnet itself is lower in the centre than on the sides, which emphasizes the car’s powerful front fenders that accommodate large, 22-inch wheels.

The wheel design continues the crosswinds motif with each spoke carefully twisted and larger outside than in the centre, providing a strong sense of movement.

The five-point grille is integrated into the body to create a clean and light image which, together with the flared front lower sides contributes to excellent aerodynamic characteristics.

Design Process - Image Gallery

Technical Features

Weight reduction and aerodynamics

The Mazda Kazamai concept’s aerodynamic performance is achieved through a flat floor panel, a rear diffuser, and a low roof line.

The aim was to make the Kazamai’s aerodynamics more than 10% better than other vehicles in its class.

When Mazda set about reducing the bodyweight, they leveraged CAE applications and focused on four major areas: collision safety, handling, NVH, and strength.

At the same time, lightweight materials and new processing/joining technologies were put to effective use.

Aluminium alloys are used for the hood, chassis and engine block. The designers aimed to make it 100 kilograms lighter than similar models by employing plastics for the panels, fenders and the engine cover.

The aerodynamics are further improved by making the air intakes as small as possible. The side sill panels and rear combination light covers also help to control the wind flow and reduce drag even further.

Powertrain

The ideal match for the Mazda Kazamai concept would be a next-generation 2.0-litre direct-injection petrol engine, which Mazda engineers are currently developing.

This engine delivers a balance of sporty driving – especially in a compact car like the Mazda Kazamai – with good environmental performance.

The DISI (Direct Injection Spark Ignition) engine is based on the current Mazda CX-7, with advanced technologies to minimize energy loss and vastly improved thermal efficiency, including combustion control technology and variable valve control.

This is coupled to a lightweight and next-generation compact six-speed automatic transmission that is highly responsive and delivers the direct feel of a manual transmission, and four-wheel drive for superior traction.

In combination with Kazamai’s next-generation aerodynamics and its lightweight body outlined above, this powertrain would deliver an estimated 30 percent improvement in fuel consumption.

Safety

Mazda Kazamai's advanced body shell is a product of a new body structure programme currently being refined at Mazda with a lightweight structure that provides high levels of crash safety.

Active safety features include roll stability control, blind spot monitoring to assist lane change, a pre-crash safety system and advanced dynamic stability control (DSC) to support the driver.

And to meet future pedestrian safety requirements, it has soft plastic fenders and a shock-cone aluminium bonnet that is very efficient in absorbing impact energy.

Also onboard the Mazda Kazamai is a personal security system.

This advanced system monitors the area around and inside the car, and has an automatic alert system which informs the driver in the event of an emergency to help to protect both the owner and occupants.

Interior

The interior accommodates up to four passengers with compact SUV comfort and functionality.

"It was designed to fulfil various driver and vehicle interfaces so as to support the driver in enjoying safe and stressfree driving, with well considered human machine interface visibility and operation cockpit."

These features also contribute to advanced handling and improved fuel economy and CO2 emissions.

Mazda Kazamai Concept - Technical Specifications

Overall length 4,520 mm
Overall width 1,930 mm
Dimensions Overall height 1,500 mm
Wheelbase 2,780 mm
Seating capacity: 4 people
Engine Type Next-generation 2.0L DISI petrol
Transmission Type Next-generation 6AT
Suspension Type
- Front: McPherson Strut,
- Rear : Multi-link
Tire Type 265/45 R22 Bridgestone

Russia’s Automobile Market

The Mazda Kazamai concept car addresses the growing popularity of SUVs in Russia and gives a strong hint at where Mazda might be going with a compact crossover SUV.

Between 2004 and the end of 2007, Russia’s automobile market grew by about 1.28 million cars, and in the process became Europe’s second largest car market after Germany.

During this same period, Mazda increased sales from 8,565 units in 2004 to over 50,000 units last year.

One of the country’s biggest segments is the sports utility vehicle (SUV), representing nearly 16 percent of the total sales volume in 2007.

Between 2004 and 2007, the segment became 10 times larger and this growth is expected to continue over the mid-term in Russia.

Mazda’s mid-sized sports crossover SUV, the CX-7, has been on the market for less than a year in Russia and has already found over 7,900 customers – easily Mazda’s largest market for the CX-7 in Europe।

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Bmw M1 Homage

Tags: concept cars, bmw, concorso d'eleganza... Published on 28 April 2008 | 32,069 views

Unveiled at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2008 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the legendary M1 by Giugiaro, the BMW M1 Homage features an emotional design that integrates technology into the overall aesthetics.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the BMW M1 super sports car, BMW Group Design is presenting a homage to this legendary model as part of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2008.

The M1 Homage offers an interpretation of the BMW M1 and the mid-engine concept from a present-day perspective.

BMW Turbo Concept by Paul Braq (1972) - Source: BMWinfo.com

The BMW M1 designed by Giorgio Giugiaro was a car of superlatives and a highly emotive vehicle that was uncompromisingly primed for the race track.

The BMW M1 was an utterly uncompromising super sports car oozing passion.

Its forerunner was the BMW Turbo by Paul Bracq, a revolutionary concept car which, in addition to its groundbreaking functional design, also boasted a raft of technical innovations.

"It is from these two unique vehicles that the BMW M1 Homage takes its cue – a design study that pays tribute to its forerunner models and an embodiment of the competence, creativity and potential of the BMW Group Design team."


The BMW M1 (1978-1981)	From left: BMW M1 Homage, M1 and Turbo Concept

Design

“For a company as for a product, it is important to be aware of one’s roots. In the spirit of Giugiaro and Bracq, the BMW M1 Homage unites the BMW values of design and technology in a highly emotional and exciting interpretation.” said Christopher E. Bangle, Director Design BMW Group.

The Liquid Orange paintwork exclusively developed for the BMW M1 Homage cites the classic BMW M1 colour and features a powerfully iridescent play of colour and brilliant depth. It shapes the extrovert surface language and highlights the interplay of convex and concave surfaces.

Mention the BMW M1, and another feature that immediately springs to mind is the characteristic twin logo at the rear, on the right and left edge above the tail lights.

For BMW, this particular arrangement of its emblems has always signalled a mid-engined model.

In the development stage of the BMW M1 this dual emblem was the first styling element to be approved even before the initial sketches were drawn.

Likewise, it was confirmed from the outset that the BMW M1 Homage would feature the same twin badges.

Other specific styling cues taken from the BMW M1 are the air vents in the hood and the louvres on the rear windscreen, as well as the black cutline dividing the roofline from the rear section of the body.

Overall, the exterior dimensions of the BMW M1 Homage are in keeping with those of the BMW M1; only the extended wheelbase indicates a larger passenger cell.

"The BMW M1 Homage takes long familiar elements from the BMW Design repertoire, reinterprets them and couches them in a new context."

If the contrasting colours were a dominant design theme for the BMW M1, this contrast is perpetuated in the BMW M1 Homage through its surface styling.

Familiar elements, such as the trademark proportions, are combined with new lines, surfaces and details to create an up-to-date interpretation of the BMW M1.

Shunning the strong wedge shape of other mid-engine cars, the BMW M1 Homage adopts BMW’s characteristic proportions, with a relatively long engine compartment, a clearly defined transition into the A-pillar and a stretched window line featuring the “Hofmeister” kink.

The horizontal flow of lines lowers the car’s visual centre of gravity and lends it an air of sovereignty.

Though the BMW M1 already boasted extremely harmonious and sporty proportions, its surface design was not yet an explicit styling issue and was dominated by high-contrast graphic themes.

"Today, however, next to the car’s proportions, it is primarily the unusual surface styling that determines the strong recognition value of a BMW model. For some years now, all BMW vehicles have exhibited a striking and unique design language."

The BMW M1 Homage systematically melds the proportions and graphic themes of the BMW M1 with the surface language of the new BMW look.

The front-end styling adopts many of the graphic design themes of the BMW M1: the contrast between the black, recessed surfaces and the car colour, the small, squat kidney grille and the “invisible” headlamps. And yet the front of the BMW M1 Homage is an absolute novelty for BMW.

Each element assumes a function: the hallmark twin kidney, for example, is not only a distinguishing feature of the BMW brand but combines aerodynamic, cooling-air routing and safety solutions.

The design of the headlamps, meanwhile, is a new iteration of the retractable headlights of the BMW M1.

Like the lamps on the historic model, those on the BMW M1 Homage are only visible when switched on.

When not in use they are discreetly integrated into the front-end design and “disappear” into the recessed black cutline, almost like pop-up headlights.

Along the side of the car all the lines, surfaces and details lead the eye from the front end along the stretched engine compartment and clearly defined A-pillars before converging at the centre of the vehicle.

Two expressive lines are drawn from the front along the flanks of the vehicle towards the engine compartment area.

The flow of lines begins in a straight, disciplined fashion at the front end, lowering the optical centre of gravity of the BMW M1 Homage and highlighting its low-slung stance. From the middle of the car, however, the lines break up.

The power of the design is focused precisely where the power of the vehicle also lies – at the engine. Strong, sensuous sweeping lines accentuate the car’s mid-engine concept, the design emphasising the mechanics behind it, the engineering skills and the engine expertise of the BMW Group.

The roofline of the BMW M1 Homage is flatly tapered, extending into and around the rear. In so doing it draws a continuous line and forms a link between the two sides of the car. It is on this line, above the tail lights, that the hallmark twin BMW logo can also be found.

The kidney grille design of the BMW M1 Homage isn’t just a signature BMW feature, it also guides the air to the engine cooling as well as constituting the front section of a crash box, similar to the monocoque chassis of a Formula One race car.

Inspired by aircraft design, the car as a whole also boasts sophisticated air ducting through the body. For example, the cooling-air routing for the engine is positioned below the roofline, in the black recessed cutline along the side of the vehicle behind the window graphic. Small flaps and openings guide the air stream into the engine compartment to ensure an adequate supply of cooling air.
Vision and inspiration.

“The BMW M1 Homage clearly manifests the creativity and potential of the BMW Design team. A project such as this is a valuable source of inspiration for our day-to-day work.” said Adrian van Hooydonk, Director Design BMW Automobiles.

The BMW M1 Homage holds great significance for the BMW Group Design team, its genesis epitomising both a living tradition and an innovative future: "This vehicle is designed as a source of inspiration; it sets out to challenge us to question and rethink what we see around us."

(Source: BMW)