Tokyo motor show - Mazda

Mazda has brought one concept car and a host of ideas to the Tokyo motor show.

The concept car is the Mazda Taiki, which company bosses concede could give clues to the direction of a future Mazda sports car.

Aside from that, Mazda has two messages it wants to get across in Tokyo – that its cars are getting greener, and that they are getting safer.

Mazda Taiki
The Mazda Taiki is the fourth concept car to be designed around the themes of nature and air-flow, with the Hakaze, Ryuga and Nagare concept cars all having been shown at previous motor shows.

Although not directly linked to a production model, the Taiki is said to represent a possible direction for design and offer an 'iconic look at the Mazda sports car of the future.' Pundits are taking that to mean the next RX-8.

The front-wheel-drive two-seater is powered by the next generation Renesis rotary engine, which uses spinning rotors instead of pistons.

Aerodynamic efficiency is at the heart of the design, although the front spoiler is also used to increase grip.

Efforts to make the driver feel part of the car include ensuring all of the car's controls can be operated without having to let go of the steering wheel.

Hydrogen power
The RX-8 Hydrogen RE vehicle has been leased to government bodies in Japan since 2006 as part of its test programme.

At the Tokyo motor show, Mazda announced that the latest generation of the dual-fuel engine will be available to lease from 2008.

It is 40% more powerful than the current unit and has a hydrogen-fuelled range of 124 miles, which is twice the distance the present engine could cover.

Cars that do not crash
Mazda has set itself a goal which is easy to express, but hard to achieve – to produce cars that do not crash.

To do this, it is focusing on reducing injury in impacts, while pursuing technology that will prevent accidents before they happen.

Efforts currently focus on eradicating human errors, and Mazda is using the Tokyo show to highlight some of the strides it has taken in this direction, such as its lane monitoring, stability control and pre-crash safety systems.