Nagare wows LA

Mazda’s global reveal of its latest concept car, the Nagare (pronounced na-gah-reh) has wowed the crowds at this week’s Los Angeles International Auto Show. Following the lead of recent Sassou, Senku, and Kabura concepts, according to the company, the Nagare is “the first indication of Mazda’s future design direction.”

According to Mazda’s newly-appointed Global Design Director, Laurens van den Acker: “Nagare is a celebration of proportions and surface language that will evolve into subsequent designs planned for presentation at future international auto shows.”

Nagare is the first of a series of design concepts that Mazda will debut over the next eight-10 months at  Detroit, Geneva and Tokyo motor shows.

Franz von Holzhausen, Mazda North American Operations' (MNAO) Director of Design, and the man responsible for leading the US-based design team which developed Nagare, explained:  "We're looking well down the road with Nagare. We want to suggest where Mazda design will be in 2020.”

"Mazda doesn't produce concept cars to spin its wheels, and while some are more forward-looking than others, we simply do not create pure flights of fantasy. We develop these ideas to demonstrate what we really intend to build and sell,” von Holzhausen said.

“It took soul-searching along with basic research to invent the new surface language we're calling Nagare. The dynamic qualities of Mazda products already do an excellent job of capturing the spirit of motion so our goal was to move our design language a major step beyond what we've already demonstrated with Sassou, Senku, and Kabura.”

According to von Holzhausen, in creating Nagare his team studied motion and the effect it has on natural surroundings.

" We found examples of motion influencing the shape and surface of furniture, architecture, apparel, and artwork. Nagare undoubtedly proves our confidence in identifying a new and exciting visual language for Mazda.”

In physical terms, the Nagara concept car is a four-place “urban cruiser.” Access is provided by two full-length gullwing doors and the driver is centrally-located, al la the iconic McLaren F1 supercar. Passengers are accommodated in a rear three-place ‘lounge’.

Mazda says the Nagare could be powered by a hydrogen-fueled rotary engine. The car maker is building such engines for special RX-8 models in its home (Japanese) market already.

To read more about Mazda's other recent showcars: