- The Hakaze exterior.
- The Hakaze interior.
- The CX9 exterior.
At the New York Auto Show last week, Peter Birtwhistle, Chief Designer at Mazda Motor Europe, was on hand to talk about the third in the Nagare series of concept cars inspired by Mazda’s new design direction of flow. Unveiled last month in Geneva, the Hakaze joins the Ryuga and the Nagare, which debuted in Los Angeles and Detroit, respectively.
“This is the closest to a production vehicle that we have in the series,” Birtwhistle says. “Compact SUVs like this,” he says of the Hakaze, “might not be what Americans are thinking about right now, but they’d do well in Europe.”
Also on display is the CX-9, a crossover that seats 7 but is designed with sports sedan-inspired performance. Both cars, says Birtwhistle, are meant for drivers as much as passengers. “People want room but not the image,” he says, “They want a sporty car that they’ll enjoy driving. That’s the idea behind the Hakaze. It’s more sporty, less aggressive. I love the attitude.”
Birtwhistle says that he and the other designers at Mazda draw a lot of inspiration from nature. It’s a conscious theme in the Nagare vehicles, but for Birtwhistle, it goes back even further. He started designing cars as a kid and sees a theme emerge in the designs he’s always responded to.
“The young designers today at Mazda are very influenced by nature,” he explains, “and the classic, retro designs—like the E series Jaguar I loved as a kid—take their design cues from nature. People are very comfortable with these shapes because they’re very natural. They keep coming back.”
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