Wing and exhaust in detail from the Mazda Furai on display at the 2008 Canadian International Auto Show
The Furai, meaning "sound of the wind", was the fifth and last of the Nagare line of concept cars that have been made by Mazda since 2006. The chassis was based on the Courage Compétition C65 Le Mans Prototype that Mazda last used to compete in the American Le Mans Series, two seasons previously[3] and was designed to use E100ethanol fuel,[5] it was powered by a heavily modified 20B 3-rotor wankel engine that produces 450 bhp (336 kW; 456 PS). The engine was developed and built by renowned rotary tuner, Racing Beat, who also built the car's rotary-shaped muffler canister.[6]
The car wore the number 55, that of its 199124 Hours of Le Mans-winning ancestor, the 787B. Unlike many concept cars, the Furai was fully functional and was tested at various tracks. It ran at Laguna Seca and Buttonwillow.
The head designer, Laurens van den Acker, had stated in an interview with Top Gear magazine that there would have been possibilities of the Furai being used for racing in Le Mans, and he also had strong hopes that the car could be brought to the market.[7]
In September 2013, it was revealed that the car had been destroyed by fire during road tests by Top Gear in 2008.[9][10]
On November 29, 2013, Top Gear was given the opportunity to make the story about the Furai's demise public. It was explained that the vehicle caught fire during a photography session at Bentwaters Parks on August 19, 2008, at 11:52 am. Driver Mark Ticehurst was piloting the Furai when the engine bay caught fire while cresting a hill on the backside of the track. Ticehurst was able to escape the car before the fire spread to the cabin area. Due to the location of the accident, fire crews were initially unaware of the incident, and took several minutes to reach the Furai. By this time, the car was completely engulfed in flames. The fire took approximately eight minutes to extinguish, and the Furai was incinerated as a result. Although the car's remains were initially taken to Mazda's Advanced Design Studio in Irvine, California, the ultimate fate of the Furai's charred remains is not publicly known.[11]
^ abNunez, Alex (2007-12-11). "Mazda Furai concept, 2009 RX-8 to debut". Autoblog. Weblogs, Inc. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
^Wert, Ray (2007-12-11). "Mazda to Reveal Furai Concept, 2009 Mazda RX-8 at Detroit Auto Show". Jalopnik. Gawker Media. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
^Vasilash, Gary S (April 2008). "Mazda: Designing Like the Wind". Automotive Design & Production. Vol. 120, no. 4. pp. 36–38.
^. Racingbeat.com. 2012-05-10. Archived from the original on 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
^. Top Gear. 8 January 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
^. Forza Motorsport. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-08-02.
^. Top Gear. BBC. 2013-09-10. Archived from the original on 2013-09-14. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
^McMorrow, Mallory (2013-09-10). . Road & Track. Archived from the original on 2013-09-18.
^Turner, Charlie (October 2013). "Exclusive: how the Mazda Furai burned to death". Top Gear. Pictures: Lee Brimble. from the original on 2022-10-06.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mazda Furai.
(in Japanese)
December 15, 2023
mazda, furai, マツダ, 風籟, matsuda, fūrai, concept, revealed, december, 2007, designed, swift, engineering, manufactured, mazda, teaser, image, vehicle, released, december, 2007, furai, officially, debuted, 2008, north, american, international, auto, show, detroit. The Mazda Furai マツダ 風籟 Matsuda Furai was a concept car revealed on 27 December 2007 and designed by Swift Engineering and manufactured by Mazda 1 2 A teaser image of the vehicle was released on 11 December 2007 3 4 The Furai officially debuted at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit Mazda FuraiOverviewManufacturerMazdaDesignerSwift Engineering with Mazda s design studio Southern CaliforniaBody and chassisClassConcept carBody style2 door coupeLayoutMR layoutPlatformCourage C65 LMP2DoorsButterflyRelatedMazda Nagare Mazda Ryuga Mazda Hakaze Mazda TaikiPowertrainEngine2 0 L 122 cu in 450 hp 336 kW R20B RENESIS 3 rotorTransmissionX trac 6 speed semi automaticDimensionsWheelbase2 790 mm 109 8 in Length4 563 mm 179 6 in Width1 956 mm 77 0 in Height977 mm 38 5 in Curb weight675 kg 1 488 lb ChronologyPredecessorMazda Nagare Wing and exhaust in detail from the Mazda Furai on display at the 2008 Canadian International Auto ShowThe Furai meaning sound of the wind was the fifth and last of the Nagare line of concept cars that have been made by Mazda since 2006 The chassis was based on the Courage Competition C65 Le Mans Prototype that Mazda last used to compete in the American Le Mans Series two seasons previously 3 and was designed to use E100 ethanol fuel 5 it was powered by a heavily modified 20B 3 rotor wankel engine that produces 450 bhp 336 kW 456 PS The engine was developed and built by renowned rotary tuner Racing Beat who also built the car s rotary shaped muffler canister 6 The car wore the number 55 that of its 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans winning ancestor the 787B Unlike many concept cars the Furai was fully functional and was tested at various tracks It ran at Laguna Seca and Buttonwillow The head designer Laurens van den Acker had stated in an interview with Top Gear magazine that there would have been possibilities of the Furai being used for racing in Le Mans and he also had strong hopes that the car could be brought to the market 7 The Mazda Furai also appears as a playable vehicle in various video game series such as Real Racing 3 Gran Turismo Forza 8 CSR Racing GRID Asphalt and GT Racing Additionally a die cast toy of the car has been made by Hot Wheels 2008 accident editIn September 2013 it was revealed that the car had been destroyed by fire during road tests by Top Gear in 2008 9 10 On November 29 2013 Top Gear was given the opportunity to make the story about the Furai s demise public It was explained that the vehicle caught fire during a photography session at Bentwaters Parks on August 19 2008 at 11 52 am Driver Mark Ticehurst was piloting the Furai when the engine bay caught fire while cresting a hill on the backside of the track Ticehurst was able to escape the car before the fire spread to the cabin area Due to the location of the accident fire crews were initially unaware of the incident and took several minutes to reach the Furai By this time the car was completely engulfed in flames The fire took approximately eight minutes to extinguish and the Furai was incinerated as a result Although the car s remains were initially taken to Mazda s Advanced Design Studio in Irvine California the ultimate fate of the Furai s charred remains is not publicly known 11 References edit Phillips Drew 2007 12 27 Mazda Furai breaks cover Autoblog Weblogs Inc Retrieved 2007 12 28 Wert Ray 2007 12 27 Mazda Furai Revealed Jalopnik Gawker Media Retrieved 2007 12 28 a b Nunez Alex 2007 12 11 Mazda Furai concept 2009 RX 8 to debut Autoblog Weblogs Inc Retrieved 2007 12 28 Wert Ray 2007 12 11 Mazda to Reveal Furai Concept 2009 Mazda RX 8 at Detroit Auto Show Jalopnik Gawker Media Retrieved 2007 12 28 Vasilash Gary S April 2008 Mazda Designing Like the Wind Automotive Design amp Production Vol 120 no 4 pp 36 38 Mazda RX 7 Performance Parts Racingbeat com 2012 05 10 Archived from the original on 2010 06 11 Retrieved 2012 05 29 Hell hath no Furai Top Gear 8 January 2008 Archived from the original on 2008 08 29 Retrieved 2012 05 29 Forza Motorsport 4 Cars Mazda Forza Motorsport 2012 Archived from the original on 2012 08 02 Sometimes We Got It Wrong Top Gear BBC 2013 09 10 Archived from the original on 2013 09 14 Retrieved 2013 09 10 McMorrow Mallory 2013 09 10 Losing the Mazda Furai A designer s reaction Road amp Track Archived from the original on 2013 09 18 Turner Charlie October 2013 Exclusive how the Mazda Furai burned to death Top Gear Pictures Lee Brimble Archived from the original on 2022 10 06 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mazda Furai Mazda s official announcement about the Furai in Japanese Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mazda Furai amp oldid 1180629861, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
