Detroit show: Mazda gets racey with Furai

MAZDA’S latest variation on its Nagare theme of concept cars brings together its view of a future production sports car and a car that could lead the company back to the race track.

Called Furai, the concept unveiled this morning at the Detroit motor show is the fifth in a series that started little more than a year ago with the Nagare (Los Angeles show 2006) and included the Ryuga (Detroit 2007), Hakaze (Geneva 2007) and Taiki (Tokyo 2007).

Furai utilises the French-built Courage C65 chassis that Mazda raced in the American Le Mans Series two seasons ago and is powered by a three-rotor R20B rotary engine that produces 338kW of power, running on 100 per cent ethanol.

Furai Mazda North America design director Franz von Holzhausen said at the show reveal: “The mindsets of road-car and racing car fans are quite different, so the purpose of Furai is to find a meeting point for these disparate interests.

“Furai purposely blurs boundaries that have traditionally distinguished street cars from track cars.”