Mazda Furai concept car

CyberPitz

CyberPitz

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Mazda has been trying to make a car that bridges the track racing scene with a streetable car. It looks as if they have succeeded.

Rumors had it a few years back that this car was going to be the next version of the RX-7. While that is not correct, it's not far off...

?Anticipating future rule changes in the ALMS, we created a new closed cockpit which would be more appropriate for a future production model,? said von Holzhausen. ?The major element we did not change is the 450-horsepower RENESIS-based R20B three-rotor rotary engine that provides Furai ample Zoom-Zoom. The ultimate Mazda in our minds is rotary powered; as a company, we have no intention of abandoning that valuable asset. When people think of the very best sports cars in the world, the rotary powered Mazda RX-7 is always on that list.?
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Nice little read....have a link!
http://www.makesandmodels.com/Mazda-Furai.php

Now for some pictures.

mazda-furai-concept1.jpg

112_0712_01z+mazda_furai_concept+teaser.jpg

Mazda_Furai_02.jpg

Furai-3.jpg


The looks are.....well, they are the same as the RX-8. Either you love it or you hate it. No real in betweener there. Personally, I think this car looks VERY aggressive, which is what I like to see in cars. They have been needing to take this road for a LONG while. A car that will put our some nice HP numbers, as the general American public looks for the higher numbers as that means a better car *or something*.

I hope they can put this engine in a more casual, easier on the eyes, every day car. Something that's not going to be INSANELY expensive, as I expect this to be.

This car isn't even slated until 2010+, so no real details about much else have emerged, but I can't wait.

*edit* after reading through this post again, I just realized the thing looks like a giant fish with the 'gills' on the side. Heh...
 
I need a clean pair of boxers :(

That looks damn fine!

Pitzy, explain to me the benefits of the rotary engine.
 
Evo said:
I need a clean pair of boxers :(

That looks damn fine!

Pitzy, explain to me the benefits of the rotary engine.
Click to expand...

Less moving parts, which as of the 3 rotor engine, only has 4 moving parts. The Eccentric shaft *what spins the rotors* and the 3 rotors.

More power for the displacement

MUCH easier to rebuild/cheaper if you do it yourself

The feeling that you are driving some very unique under the hood.

Other than that, there are some drawbacks, like anything....as of now, poor gas mileage *though the Renesis Rotary Engine is PERFECT for Hydrogen, which they already have in the works...*, lack of knowledge with regular technicians, everybody saying how unreliable they are...*Note, I put in there "saying", as there are plenty of 13B's *the ones in the second generation RX-7 that hit over 250k miles* You just have to maintain it a little more, as checking the oil is a must every couple of gas top off's.

*edit* and Bob, heh, I thought the same thing. I'm hoping they give it more of a Street suspension so it raises it up a little bit and makes the rides less bumpy.
 
Gazork0 said:
You do know that is a racing car, right?
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It's actually said to be both. They are trying to bridge the gap, if you read the article. Bob is right, that thing wouldn't last on the streets, but I bet they have the same car with some better suspension/shocks, and some other things that make driving it on the street much more civil.
 
rotary engines sound really interesting. Just need to pay attention to maintaining it nothing that hard to do.
I just hope they keep developping it so it'll get good mileage.
 
Looks similar to the Audi A8 or w/e that fancy/awesome one is. Although this looks much more sophisticated...concept car i trust? Nothing ever comes to the streets looking this nice :(

And with the rotary engine, can't you rev it real high?
 
AKIRA said:
rotary engines sound really interesting. Just need to pay attention to maintaining it nothing that hard to do.
I just hope they keep developping it so it'll get good mileage.
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Taken from the part I quoted in the OP...
The ultimate Mazda in our minds is rotary powered; as a company, we have no intention of abandoning that valuable asset.
Click to expand...

And as they shouldn't abandon the Rotary. It has HUGE potential and I really can't wait to see what they can do...

L3N!N said:
Looks similar to the Audi A8 or w/e that fancy/awesome one is. Although this looks much more sophisticated...concept car i trust? Nothing ever comes to the streets looking this nice :(

And with the rotary engine, can't you rev it real high?
Click to expand...

The RX-8 red lines at 9k RPMs, and since the rotors just do a slightly asymetrical circle spin, the high rev's don't hurt the engine. With the 2.0 liter engine *or 3 rotor* it has the ability to spin higher. I see 3 rotors hitting the 10k RPM range and STILL in the power band.

*edit* how about a video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4Xl0i4uNGU
God, I LOVE the way that car sounds.
 
You forgot the video:
http://jalopnik.com/344181/2009-mazda-furai-concept--on-video-auditory-bliss

Anyway, I'm not a big fan of rotaries, I just prefer a good old 6- or 8-cylinder engine. They're still interesting though, I wish Mazda would make something rotary-powered other than the RX-8(such as a proper successor to the RX-7), but that's unlikely with the way I hear fuel prices are going in the States.
 
fuel prices in the states are about 40 cents cheaper then they are in Canada. I hear you guys are hitting the $4.00/Gallon thats like around 80-90 cents/L in Canada or something around there. Currently we're at $1.23/L it's supposed to go up to $1.50 in a few months...but meh i guess if you have a good income gas isn't that much of a big deal.

Until I get a good income I'll most likely stick with the cylinder engines even tho i really want to test out maybe even buy a rotary
 
I have a feeling they will be resolving the gas issue sooner or later....hopefully. With the Renesis, it's a perfect candidate for Hydrogen, so when that starts to become a little bigger, we got that.

But another thing to increase the Fuel Economy of the engine is the Direct Injection fuel for the new 16x rotary being built. Not sure how much it will increase, but I have a feeling it will help a lot in retrospect to how it is now.

I get 16mpg average in the city, which isn't so bad imo. It's not great, but I mean...it's not as bad as it's led to believe.
 
The side looks good but the front is bad. Over all good tho.
 
CyberPitz said:
I get 16mpg average in the city, which isn't so bad imo. It's not great, but I mean...it's not as bad as it's led to believe.
Click to expand...

haha jesus christ. I'm pretty sure my '08 Mazda 3 gets double that. But my Mazda 3 is also a....Mazda 3.

:(

I still love it though :D I also love that car featured in this thread! It sounds so nice..

edit:

http://www.canadiandriver.com/overviews/2005/mazda/3.php

Code: 
Fuel consumption 2.0	 City:  8.5 L/100 km (33 mpg)
                          Hwy:  6.2 L/100 km (46 mpg)
 
Yeah, the 8 was never marketed as a gas saver, so anybody who is like "OMG WTF?!?" is just nuts :p

The car gets shitty gas mileage, but it's probably the most fun I've ever had. The RX-7's had slightly better MPG, when tuned correctly. But my Turbo wasn't tuned well, pig rich, and I was getting 12 mpg. So 16 is a godsend.
 
You know, one problem with the rotary engine is that since only one company has really adopted it, it gets much less R&D than the piston engine. Sure, a lot of the advancements in piston engines can be applied to rotary engines, but it still develops at a slower pace.

Though the fact that Mazda has kept it going for so long is impressive, even if they only have a single rotary-powered model right now vs. the early '70s when they were sticking the damn things into everything from city cars to buses.

You know, the Furai made me think how awesome it would be if Mazda made an affordable mid-engined rotary sports car.
 
Yeah, when the whole Oil crisis hit back in the day, every company but Mazda dropped the engine, which was sad. Think how far it could have gone if they all stuck with it. Oh well, I guess I can feel that I was a part of history when it keeps advancing, and be that old guy that walks up to some guy with the Mazda RX-12.."They still putting dem Rotary Engines in there?"
 
The only thing preventing me from getting a rotary...is the fuel efficiency.

Join me in the quest to find alternative fuels.
 
L3N!N said:
The only thing preventing me from getting a rotary...is the fuel efficiency.

Join me in the quest to find alternative fuels.
Click to expand...

*crosses fingers for Hydrogen Rotary*
 
BTW, I wish Mazda would sell the RX-8 here...despite what the Western media might say about everyone in the Middle East owning a garage full of Ferraris, there is still a very decent market for affordable sports cars. Mustangs, Camaros, 350Zs(as well as older Zs), and Preludes are all common sights on Bahrain's roads, and Mazda is really missing out by not offering its own affordable sports car here.

And since petrol is dirt cheap around here, mileage isn't a very big problem.
 
Apocalypse89 said:
BTW, I wish Mazda would sell the RX-8 here...despite what the Western media might say about everyone in the Middle East owning a garage full of Ferraris, there is still a very decent market for affordable sports cars. Mustangs, Camaros, 350Zs(as well as older Zs), and Preludes are all common sights on Bahrain's roads, and Mazda is really missing out by not offering its own affordable sports car here.

And since petrol is dirt cheap around here, mileage isn't a very big problem.
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Wow, I was unaware that they WEREN'T selling them over there. Heh, yeah, Mazda may be crazy for not selling it.
 
I looked on a Bahraini used car site and found this:

http://www.bahcars.com/en/search_cars/detail.php?ref=8057

It has Qatari plates...I don't know if the RX-8 is actually sold in Qatar or if someone there privately imported it and brought it to Bahrain for some reason. Of course, I don't think they'll find a buyer very easily since the car is:

1. Overpriced for a 4-year-old car with quite a few kilometers.
2. Unique, high-maintenance engine + no local dealer/parts support = bad combination

Also, lol at "6 Cylinder".
 
22k dollars for that?! No, you can buy it for 12k here, and import it for 12 or something :p

But you were wrong on the "high-maintenance" part. The only thing different is you have to add a quart of oil to the engine every 3k miles...other than that, everything is standard maintenance....well, besides making it a daily run for reving it up to 9k RPMs to clear up any excess carbon buildup.
 
Well, special maintenance might have been more accurate. Still, I'm not sure if I would trust the previous owner to have taken proper care of the engine(although I guess if he imported it, then they must have been pretty serious about the car), and in any case something will eventually break, in which case parts will be very difficult/expensive to find.

BTW, are any RX-8 parts outside of the engine shared with other Mazdas?
 
Apocalypse89 said:
Well, special maintenance might have been more accurate. Still, I'm not sure if I would trust the previous owner to have taken proper care of the engine(although I guess if he imported it, then they must have been pretty serious about the car), and in any case something will eventually break, in which case parts will be very difficult/expensive to find.

BTW, are any RX-8 parts outside of the engine shared with other Mazdas?
Click to expand...

Actually, even the engine is unique to the RX-8. So far, 2004 - 2008 RX-8's are all the same, the only difference in any models *besides ECU adjustments and such* is color availability/special editions here and there. 2009 RX-8's have a redesigned engine right add more oil lubrication towards the center of the engine. Body has gotten a face lift as well. But really, the engine in the RX-8 is dubbed the "Renesis" which, in addition to the 13B powerplant has a "Mutli-Side Port" so it allows for more airflow, hence the same sized engine puts out 20-40 more HP then it's brethren. Here are some pictures of the new RX-8...sexy little car, while some people think it's ugly for some reason..

veh_upcoming_rx8_1.jpg

p2lb6.jpg


Also, it's very true if and WHEN something busts on the car, it will be very expensive to fix, since the car doesn't share parts with other Mazda's, like the 3 or 6. I guess the price you pay to be unique...

I really hope they sell the 8 over there sometime.
 
Lol I should have worded my last post better. I meant that I know that the RX-8's engine is unique, I just wanted to know if it shared anything else(battery, starter, interior bits, etc.) with other Mazdas, since most manufacturers do that to keep costs down. There are plenty of 3s and 6s around here so it would be good to know that if something minor breaks, then it can be replaced cheaply.

I wouldn't be very surprised if Mazda begins selling the 8 here in the coming years. Until recently we didn't get the Honda Accord Coupe, but when Honda noticed that a lot of people were importing them, they decided to start selling the coupe version of new 2008 Accord. And that new RX-8 looks awesome.
 
Apocalypse89 said:
Lol I should have worded my last post better. I meant that I know that the RX-8's engine is unique, I just wanted to know if it shared anything else(battery, starter, interior bits, etc.) with other Mazdas, since most manufacturers do that to keep costs down. There are plenty of 3s and 6s around here so it would be good to know that if something minor breaks, then it can be replaced cheaply.

I wouldn't be very surprised if Mazda begins selling the 8 here in the coming years. Until recently we didn't get the Honda Accord Coupe, but when Honda noticed that a lot of people were importing them, they decided to start selling the coupe version of new 2008 Accord. And that new RX-8 looks awesome.
Click to expand...

I'm not 100% sure about the battery, but I'm sure the starter is unique now, since they had to install a stronger one to help prevent the flooding. Now that I think about it, I think we received a different battery as well. Interior is, I'm 99% sure, unique all around.
 
Don't mean to stupid bump, but new pics released of the Furai, and my god it's sexy.

attachment.php

attachment.php

attachment.php

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Oh god I think i'm in love.......


If I could afford it I'd buy that car and drive to my mailbox cuz I could......
 
Well i take it back that looks insane.
 
I saw this months ago at NAIAS. I'll post some pictures when I can find them (apologizes for quality, they're cell-phone pics)

EDIT: I think they went overboard with the swirls, and the noselooks like a brick, but other than that, it's one of the best looking concepts I've seen in a while (excluding the Lamborghini Reventon of course)

EDIT2: Pics . . . .





















 
so is this supposed to be a road car? I really love the back and the red jap writing, WOW :D
 
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