The last 12 months have been an amazing year for Mazda concepts. This is the fourth in the 'Nagare' series that explore the idea of 'flow' and the Mazda stand here was notable for showing all of them together for the first time - a most impressive display and one of the highlights of this show. The Taiki was designed in the Yokohama studio under the direction of Chief Designer Atsuhiko Yamada, with input from designers Troy Trinh and Joe Reeve, and sees the evolution of this theme into its most wild form, yet uses a softer form language than seen on the previous Nagare, Ryuga and Hakaze concepts.
There's almost too much to cover on this car, as it's a complex series of forms, plus there is a sophisticated underlying design philosophy, "That visually expresses the flow of air" according to Yamada. Interestingly, some older designers CDN spoke to referred to the design bearing some similarities to the 1986 Peugeot Proxima concept, particularly the partially-enclosed rear wheel buttresses, but generally the response to the car from rival designers was extremely positive. Neat details include the varying pitch and spacing of the center grille bars, the three adjacent wave lines that contain LED lamps and rear lamps and side turn signals that glow through the body surface, this latter a development seen on several cars here at Tokyo.
The interior is inspired by Japanese koinobori - the decorative 'carp streamers' that are flown in springtime - and takes the idea of an airtube being distorted by the wind. The passenger side is a calm white environment while the driver's side cockpit is a stark contrast of black twisted forms that appear somewhat sinister, like some alien plant form: it's hardly inviting as a proper driving environment yet is fascinating as a piece of advanced interior architecture.
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Just six weeks after the world premiere of the Up! concept, VW is showing this second member of the 'New Small Family' here at Tokyo. It's a very rational design - "a straight-lined and confident design" says VW Group Chief Designer Walter de Silva - and therefore quite a contrast to the extrovert Japanese concepts on display. The rationality in the design is even stronger than the previous version shown at Frankfurt: not only is the four-door format and use of space inherently more functional than the three-door Up! but there is a simpler, more geometric approach to the graphic elements such as the DLO and shutlines that enhance its character and reduce the slightly retro-look seen previously.
At 3.68 meters long, it is 230mm longer than the Frankfurt car, with a correspondingly longer wheelbase and 40mm taller. However, the proportions are deceptive: it's still 150mm shorter than the smallest current VW model, the Fox. Design changes over the white Frankfurt car include a more upright screen, wider headlamps and white rather than grey inserts in the wheels. The rear features a new two-part rear door, as on Mini Clubman, but with a 60/40 asymmetric split and with the taillamps under the glass as on the three-door.
Inside, the seating position is slightly higher than before and seat cushions are made of an airflow foam that constantly adapts to the occupants' body shape. Other features include a touchscreen with 3D graphics for the climate and entertainment functions, proximity sensors with gesture control and passenger seats that can be folded or removed. The rear seats also incorporate child seats that fold out of the slim seat foams.
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By far the most provocative and advanced of the four concepts shown here by Nissan, the Pivo 2 is a more globular version of the Pivo shown here two years ago. In design terms, the biggest difference is how the rounded form language from Pivo 1 is now extended to the end views, while the three-seater cabin is developed to include a number of new technical features to enhance its appeal to the 'girl about town' customer that Nissan is targeting.
First impressions are that the chassis 'pillow base' of the Pivo 2 has been visually reduced so that the 10-inch wheels sit as separate globules outside the main rotating cabin and each can now rotate 90 degrees. In sideways 'crab parking' mode the four wheels and grey inner wheelarches turn together inside their blue outer wheel spheres, however, this further emphasizes the essentially excessive use of road space of the novel chassis layout. There are also semantic issues with this design: the connecting joints of the tiny wheels to the cabin leave narrow gaps in the overall silhouette of the car and the hinges themselves appear thin and visually weak, whereas one might expect to see a strong section at these critical points. On the positive side, the whole vehicle shifts with an exciting animal-like movement, tilting and heaving around as the various wheel and cabin arrangements are engaged in sequence.
The drive-by-wire steering and pedals allow the complete front end to open as on the old BMW Isetta bubblecars of the 1950's. A further innovation is the incorporation of a 'Robotic Agent' - an animated monkey-like character that sits atop the IP and rotates to show emoticons to the outside world.
At the end of the day there are two basic parts to this showcar: the multi-directional cabin idea and the globular form language, and the two sometimes act against each other. It feels like Nissan needs a Pivo 3 version to tie the whole concept together and really make it 'sing'.
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