Sassou fits Mazda's B to A T

Or, rather, to a B. That's the market segment Mazda says a production version of the car would be pitched at. In other words, a new Mazda 2.

The name sound French but actually is Japanese and means "optimistic".

The car was designed at Mazda's European Design Centre, appropriately enough, in Frankfurt.

Mazda says it also will show concept cars from other local design centres at this year's Tokyo motor show - which closely follows October's Sydney motor show - and at January's Detroit motor show.

The Sassou is powered by a 1-litre turbocharged three-cylinder MZR DISI (Direct Injection Sport Ignition) petrol engine. Expect the production car to offer a more conventional, larger-capacity engine ... if, indeed, it makes it into production.

The styling of the three-door Sassou is contemporary wheel-at-each-corner cool, with strong hints of Peugeot 207, Audi A3, Golf and, dare we say, Ford Ka. Unlike the current Mazda 2, the Sassou's stance is decidedly aggressive, with big wheels filling pumped wheelarches.

Inside, things get a lot more concept-like, with inspiration coming from Japanese rice paper "Shoji" screens. According to Mazda's pre-Frankfurt information, there are "... attributes that are hidden with the body and are suddenly revealed by an illumination system that makes the car seem to spring to life in a way this is appealing and surprising". Hmmm. Hopefully, we'll know exactly what that means after the car is unveiled in Frankfurt.

Also inside, and at this stage more concept than real world, the Sassou boasts such new-tech goodies as a USB stick ignition "key" and an interface port for programming the car's hard disc drive. It also gets what's been described as a "morphing" back seat that uses compressed air to change from single-, two- or three-seater. It also folds flat for more storage.

Okay, so the obvious concept-car bells and whistles wouldn't make it into production. Nor would the fat guards and big wheels - unless there's a performance version in the wings. But let's hope this car really is the blueprint for the next Mazda 2.