Mazda Kabura Concept

To a medieval Japanese warrior, Kabura described the first arrow launched into battle: a whistling missive that boldly proclaimed the arrival of a new force to be reckoned with. To a modern Japanese car manufacturer like Mazda, it's an equally dramatic precursor--albeit to different kind of confrontation. Although still cloaked in a mantle of high concept, this revolutionary sport coupe lays some very real groundwork for the look and feel of a future that could be here sooner than you think.

Prime responsibility for the Kabura was entrusted to Franz von Holzhausen, who took over as chief of design for Mazda North American Operations in February 2005. Working with the firm's international design director, Moray Callum, the youthful but well-credentialed von Holzhausen and his crew of some 50 artisans in Irvine, California, crystalized what began as the "Concept Sport Coupe" into a reality-based vehicle that would appeal to Gen-Y buyers while maintaining legitimate production potential. Von Holzhausen's first effort proved a bona-fide star of this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit, wowing attendees in its debut outing and earning the prestigious Eyes on Design Award for Aesthetics and Innovation from a panel of top international auto designers.

Riding on a 100.4-inch wheelbase, the Kabura is scaled midway between the MX-5 and RX-8. According to its chief architect, the look provides "an idea of where Mazda design probably will go for our sporty, lower-volume vehicles."

Although the Kabura takes existing corporate cues to a new plateau, its seamless integration of fluid contours and sheer surfaces yields a cohesive whole that remains immediately recognizable as a Mazda. Its profile is punctuated by short overhangs, bold wheel arches filled with 245/35 tires on 19-inch front and 20-inch rear alloy wheels, and a subtle but functional drop-down character line that increases the scale of the door glass. Heavily stylized front and rear fascias incorporate equally distinctive LED lamp treatments. However, it's the Kabura's dramatic windshield that puts it quite literally over the top. Extending all the way back to the B-pillar, this soaring one-piece canopy was intended "to bring the outside in," a job it performs with panoramic intensity.

To more fully exploit that feeling of spaciousness, the Kabura's primary color palette and futuristic seat design also emphasize lightness. The former provides tasteful resolution to a "fire and ice" exterior/interior motif that was also part of the original design thinking. The latter explores new ideas in trimming mass with an eye toward keeping curb weight of any production variant under a rumored 2500-pound bogey.