Ford Motor Company Global Auto Shows

Flow—nagare is Japanese for flow; ryuga is “gracious flow”—was the theme for the unveiling of the Mazda Ryuga Concept. Laurens van den Acker, Design Division General Manager for Hiroshima, Japan’s Mazda Motor Corporation, described the evolution of this idea, based on the new design theme that began with the Nagare concept car unveiled at the LA Auto Show, November 2006.

“The Mazda customer is young at heart, progressive, and tech-savvy,” van den Acker said. “The Ryuga concept embodies ideas of harmony, nature, and beauty, but it fits completely with modern technology.”

Some key design features include side surfaces inspired by karesansui (Japanese dry gardens) and a headlamp shape inspired by the flow of morning dew dropping from bamboo leaves. Advanced LED and fluorescent tube technology will enable such a striking design to be used on a production vehicle in the foreseeable future.

The 21-inch wheel spokes – different on the left and right sides – are slightly twisted as if they’re delivering torque. To convey the feeling of gas turbine blades, the trailing edges of the wheel spokes are accented with a tinge of body color.

Yasushi Nakamuta was the chief designer for this project and designer of the highly successful third generation 2006 MX-5 Miata.