2006 Mazda Nagare Review

Specifications

Painting a Picture of 2020

The centerpiece for the Mazda display at this years LA Auto Show was a concept car called the Nagare (pronounced: na-ga-reh), which means “flow” in Japanese. Described as a “Concept of a Concept”, it is the North American Design Studios answer to a challenge posed by Laurens van der Acker, Mazdas new chief of design. The goal of this internal challenge is to see the different ways that motion can be registered on a vehicle, regardless if it is static or moving. To make matters more challenging, the car must also showcase the future styling direction of the brand. In the case of the Nagare, its the year 2020.

The Negares design leader Franz Van Holhausen must have spent a great deal of time awestruck by National Geographic, as his latest design is brimming with themes that come from the most beautiful and mystic parts of the planet. His design team studied natural motion and its effects on its surroundings, such as the way lava creeps down a volcanic mountainside, or how water moves across the ocean floor. But just by looking at the concept, the biggest inspiration was how wind shapes the ridges on desert sand dunes. To this, he says, “Natural motion registers an impression in your brain and thats what we hoped to capture with the new Nagare surface language”. Consider it a success; looking at the car, you dont see the vibrant electricity associated with zoom-zoom, you indeed see flow.

The paint on the Nagare is stunning, a warm, glowing copper accented by black-tinged chrome, with darker hued strips that wrap around the rear fenders guided by the shape of the arch. They look like theyre sticking out, a three-dimensional ripple on the surface of the car, but its just paint. Simply amazing. Though the rear bumper, a matte and dusty gray-purple, interrupts the golden light bodywork, the pattern continues in finger-like LED trails. This patterning can also be found on the tips of the front fenders and imprinted on the panoramic roof.

It should come as no surprise that the Nagares body is one of the slipperiest shapes that Mazda has conceived, the cockpit-like dome of the cabin extending as far as the peaks of the front wheel arch, and as far back as the physical end of the car. Even the wheels manage to incorporate an element of flow; the spokes meld with black-painted elements into the tires. The pointed, bumperless nose is what confirms the Nagare as a Mazda; with more than a decade separating the Nagare from today, the five-sided grille and pontooned fenders are clearly visible.

Every last design maxim followed for the Nagare has resulted in a unique cabin space. The doors, for instance are double-length, stretching the entire length of the wheelbase; they rise on roof-mounted hinges large enough to raise a cantilever bridge, and they very curiously tip forward as they move up like butterfly wings.

Inside, the Nagare has room for four, but not in the traditional 2+2 layout. The drivers seat is located in a central position in the cabin, right under the tallest part of the roof line, leaving plenty of headroom, plus racecar-like control and visibility. Life wont be difficult for the three in back because the large doors, in combination with the single front seat, makes entering and exit easy, as there are no front seats to tumble and fold.

Not that youd really want to get out of the Nagares back seats, because theyre like an adaptable lounge, comfortable and cool looking. The rear bench seat is inclined in such a way that passengers arent in the usual cramped and upright position. When two people are carried on board the center position on the bench pushes forward, creating two supportive indents where people sit, ideal for sporting driving. If youve got more than two friends that want a ride, the center divide retracts, returning to a lounge-like bench. Mazda has also come up with a clever solution to rear-seat in-car entertainment. The Nagare could not have a roof-mounted LCD screen as are often found in minivans or SUVs as it would defeat the purpose of the curved, glass panoramic roof, nor could it feature screens put on the back of the console as there isnt one. Instead, one screen was put behind the drivers seat, and another individual LCD was flushly integrated into the side panels of the interior, swiveling out.

With a mission on design, Mazda did not announce an engine for the Nagare, but the brand speculated that if the car were ever to be produced, it could very well adapt a hydrogen-fueled version of the hallmark rotary engine. Mazda currently runs a small fleet of hydrogen-powered RX-8s in Japan; the research involved could pay dividends in the form of a road-going variant of the Nagare. Close inspection behind the wheels shows no large discs, but instead rather complex looking drums that are reminiscent of electrical motors.

If you hadnt noticed on the autoshow loop last year, Mazda unloaded a trio of concept cars, each penned by one of its three design studios. They were the Sassou, Senku, and Kabura, all of which were said to showcase new design directions. Its not going to be a case of copy and paste for this year, but Mazda is going to be taking that theme of “flow”, and slathering it liberally on any vehicle to leave its design studios in the upcoming year. Mazdas next concept will arrive in a little over a month at the Detroit Auto Show, while another is merely waiting for time to pass between now and Geneva (spring). Stay tuned, though it may be hard to believe, Mazdas are going to get even more interesting.