Interviews with the creators of Mazda VISION COUPE and Mazda KAI CONCEPT
A lot of people came to visit us at the Tokyo Motor Show this year. Thanks a lot to everyone who dropped by the Mazda stand.
We revealed two new concept cars in Tokyo this year. Now we’d like to introduce the Mazda designers and engineers who created these models and explain the thinking behind them. Let’s start with the next-generation design vision model.
Mazda VISION COUPE
In this video Ikuo Maeda, Mazda’s Managing Executive Officer in charge of Design and Brand Style, talks about the design philosophy that shaped Mazda VISION COUPE.
Mazda has been creating vital and dynamic car designs under the KODO design philosophy since 2010. The next phase of KODO will see the design language mature, achieving a new elegance that is grounded in a Japanese aesthetic.
VISION COUPE aims to express an elegance that befits the Mazda brand. The challenge was to keep the form simple while achieving a new expression of vitality through powerful, dignified highlights and a delicate flow of reflections over the body surface.
Mazda KAI CONCEPT
In this video, Akira Kyomen of the Vehicle Development Division, Eiji Nakai of the Powertrain Development Division and Chief Designer Yasutake Tsuchida talk about the Mazda KAI CONCEPT.
In August 2017, Mazda announced its “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030” long-term vision for technology development. We see it as our mission to enrich people’s lives as well as society and to help realize a beautiful earth. This vision commits Mazda to continue seeking ways to inspire people through the value found in cars.
The Mazda KAI CONCEPT is powered by the ground-breaking SKYACTIV-X engine and adopts the SKYACTIV-Vehicle Architecture that will underpin the next generation of Mazda vehicles. Representing Mazda’s vision of the ultimate combustion engine-powered car, this concept model combines next-generation KODO design with breakthrough technology that turns decades of conventional industry wisdom on its head.
Finally, let us show you some photos from Mazda Design Night 2017 and one more video. This event was held for members of the media at a Kanto Mazda dealership in the Takadanobaba district of Tokyo. The Mazda RX-VISION, unveiled two years earlier at the Tokyo Motor Show, was also on display.
About 300 journalists from Japan and overseas took part in the event. We revealed the Mazda VISION COUPE next-generation design concept and global design chief Ikuo Maeda explained how KODO will evolve as the brand’s design language enters a new phase.
One participant told us, “This is just like Mazda: Design, R&D, and production are all working toward the same goal. And even your dealer helps out.” Another said, “I can see the common thread that connects all the changes we’ve seen in your designs over the last few years.”
A number of artworks that relate to the evolution of KODO design were on display at the venue. These included flower arrangements by Ikenobo; Kodoki, a hammered copperware piece made by Gyokusendo that Mazda first displayed at Milan Design Week in 2015; and a couple of artworks created by Mazda’s design team.
Flower arrangements by Ikenobo (left) and the Kodoki copperware wine cooler (right)
Please watch this next-generation technology and design concept video. It shows that passion behind the Mazda brand.
