TOKYO MOTOR SHOW: Mazda Takeri expands KODO styling theme

The Takeri concept unveiled today in Tokyo will be a foretaste of the next Mazda6 — and the production model will be larger than the car we know today. However, Mazda will align two different Mazda6 models for world markets; the current North America-only car will be no more as a distinct entity.

All of this is surmised from Mazda's Takeri design study, but also supported by the company's head of R&D, Hirotaka Kanazawa, in comments made through a translator to carsales.com.au overnight.

"We wanted to make the sedan a little bit bigger, but for a wagon we are not planning to make it so big. For the next C/D sedan we are thinking that maybe we should make it a little bit bigger, so therefore that element is reflected in Takeri."

Asked for further clarification, Kanazawa-san explained that the added length will provide greater rear-seat comfort, but he also confirmed that the next Mazda6 will only be built in Japan. There will be no production of the model in the US.

As a design study, Takeri encapsulates the company's latest corporate style -- named KODO -- in a package that also promotes the company's advanced fuel-saving hardware. Named from the Japanese term for 'Male', Takeri is a showcase of new aesthetics and new technology. But none of the new features precludes the Takeri from being lightly revised for series production. The styling, according to Kanazawa-san, is even readily compatible with upcoming pedestrian safety legislation in Europe from 2013.

The Takeri on display at the Tokyo Motor Show is powered by the same SKYACTIV-D diesel engine motoring.com.au has already sampled in Mazda's TPV mule. At the time we praised the low-compression diesel in light of its real-world practicality, but the KODO styling -- first seen in the Shinari concept and as embodied in the Takeri -- would be icing on the cake for a production Mazda to succeed the current medium segment Mazda6.

In addition to a new take on the KODO theme, Takeri also introduces new fuel-saving technology, 'i-ELOOP', which is reliant on engine braking to charge a capacitor that in turn supplies power to ancillary devices, such as air conditioning when the internal-combustion engine is not running. The i-stop system is also a feature of the Takeri show car and is another innovation from Mazda, providing immediate starting on demand from the driver.

SKYACTIV is the lynchpin of Mazda's 'Sustainable Zoom-Zoom' engineering philosophy, which is expected to deliver a 30 per cent fuel use reduction for the company's product range by 2015 -- in contrast with average figures for 2008.

And the new generation of SKYACTIV technology is just an appetiser, says Mazda. There's more to come over the next several years -- and we'll have more information on that in the next few days.

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