When Mazda presented the MX-Crossport concept car at the 2005 Detroit Motor Show media and public feedback was universally positive. Within a few days, the design team, under the direction of Chief Designer Iwao Koizumi, went to work to develop the production version: the new Mazda CX-7, a high-performance sports crossover vehicle with sports utility practicality and genuine Zoom-Zoom spirit.
The design story of this unique vehicle was to a significant degree, European‑inspired. One personal experience that Koizumi-San used to develop his design from a global perspective was his first encounter with European sports cars.
“I have a vivid memory from when I was a boy, not quite 10 years old. In France, I saw the 1967 Le Mans 24-hour endurance race and I remember being rooted to the spot as the leading Ferrari P4, Porsche 907 and Ford GT40 came round the track battling three-abreast at some points for lap after lap,” enthused Koizumi.
“When I became old enough to drive that amazement grew into a deep respect for the European sports car culture. This feeling is infused into the Zoom-Zoom ethos I bring to designing cars now.”
The design brief for the CX-7 was to deliver a ‘sports crossover with SUV-style functionality’, so the team began by consolidating the definition and image of a true sports car. Koizumi gathered Mazda’s designers together and brainstormed all the design themes that make a driver feel ’this is a sports car’. It is interesting to note that the thoughts and images produced by the designers clearly drew a lot of influence from Europe, where there is a vibrant and enduring sports car tradition.
“There are so many genres, traditions and conventions that the image of a sports car can vary greatly from person to person. I believe that through our research we managed to come up with a universal definition of a sports car that would be loved by drivers all around the world. I believe this process was fundamental to the successful design of the Mazda CX-7 production car,” added Koizumi.
The resulting combination of form and design language transforms the CX-7’s larger proportions using a host of features to signify its sporty credentials. Its A-pillar is steeply angled and flows seamlessly into the roof line, which then breaks downward relatively early, over the B-pillar, to slope over the C-pillar and down into the D-pillar, finishing with a short rear end and roof-edge spoiler.
Other sporty design cues include a kick-up beltline in the profile and deep character lines over the bonnet, placed slightly inward to make room for muscular front fenders – echoing a theme used in the design of the Mazda RX-8 and new Mazda2. At the rear, round elements (lamps and large tailpipes) pay homage to a visual theme that has been admired by automotive fans for more than three decades on glamorous Italian sports cars.
Mazda CX-7’s interior design also features elements of ‘sports car’ appeal. The driving position, with a wrap-around cockpit and a high mounted gear shift, was inspired by studies of modern European sports car interiors. Additional sporty touches include a large rev-counter and a speedometer scaled to 150mph, a leather steering wheel that replicates the wheel of the iconic Mazda MX-5 sports car and a six-speed gear shift.
Design contributes much to making the Mazda CX-7 a ‘sports crossover’. It is a new Mazda model which wears its athleticism with the same fashionable sophistication as the Mazda RX-8 sports coupe, with its large mouth, eyes and powerful shoulders. It’s a model that combines elements of European sports car design that have a timeless appeal, with the interior roominess, comfort and quality of a sports utility vehicle. Add Mazda’s 260ps high-performance DISI turbocharged engine and superior build quality and you have Mazda entering a new market segment at its innovative best.
Mazda CX-7 is already available to preorder via www.cx-7order.co.uk with first deliveries scheduled for September. In addition, a dedicated microsite www.newmazdacx-7.com provides essential information on the vehicle.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
New Mazda CX-7 sports crossover
Abt Sportsline Audi TT Roadster
An open roof sportscar in a tailor-made suit: The Abt TT Roadster
Before the first preliminary designs were published, it was clear that the leading Audi tuner Abt Sportsline planned to cause a sensation with the new Audi TT, as the first TT is one of the favourite cars of the Kempten-based company with a long tradition. And this is due to the fact that the race version of the Sports Coupe 2002 won a lot of DTM (German Touring Car Series) races.
Therefore it is only logical that, after the extravagant TT-Sport and TT-R, also the TT Roadster, which is already exquisitely beautiful as serial car, gets a special treatment in the Allgaeu: the designer from Abt Sportsline developed car body parts with which the open-roof TT becomes more danymical. Thus, the front skirt with its grid element emphasizes the area around the fog lights and the single-frame grill. The brawny laterally attached parts underline the design of the convertible and create a unit with the striking rear section of the car. There the rear skirt inset and the rear wing, providing additional down force, are the central elements. Also the 4-pipe rear muffler, which perfectly harmonizes with the rear skirt inset and its integrated rear diffuser, belongs to the distinctive rear view of the Abt TT Roadster.
The Audi TT Roadster from Abt is an absolutely successful open-roof sportscar, a design masterpiece for ambitious pilots. Therefore, Abt Sportsline offers a number of power upgrade packages. The highlight of the product range is - similar to the Coupé - the TT-R with the VR6 3.2 K. The supercharger aggregate provides 355 hp (262 kW) and accelerates the car in about 5 sec. from standstill to 100 km/h. But also the other versions are extremely sporty. No matter if VR6 3.2 or 2.0 T-FSI engine, an Abt TT Roadster is always fast. For the favoured 2 liters Turbo FSI, Abt offers a power upgrade from 240 hp (177 kW) with special iS technology, sparing purse and environment, up to powerful 300 hp (221 kW). Matching to the always enormous propulsion of the Audi TT Roadster: Abt suspension kit. For more security in ticklish situations cares the Abt sports brake system with its huge disc diameters of 380x34 millimeters.
To perfectly round off the dynamical and powerful appearance of the Audi TT Roadster, Abt recommends the wheels AR 19 and SP1 in the size 19 inch, as well as the one inch bigger wheel AR20.
