Eunos Cosmo Rear Seats (1990)
Starring an often-overlooked part of the interior
The back seats of most coupés are usually about as important as a newborn being able to recite Tennyson, but that didn’t stop Mazda thinking hard about them when the intriguing Cosmo was launched in Japan in 1990.
Designed to showcase Mazda’s new-found premium ambition, the Cosmo had many firsts like the first embedded satnav and a tri-rotor Wankel engine, but thanks to its high purchase price and the sheer density of impressive rival cars from other Japanese marques, found itself without much love from the ’90s Japanese buyer.
While there is a lot to comment on regarding the Cosmo, Mazda unknowingly designed possibly the best set of rear seats ever in a car regardless of price or era. Wrapped around the entire rear section of the cabin, the oversize banded leather buckets have more than a whiff of postmodernism about them. In keeping with the contemporary nature of the Cosmo they look like Le Corbusier himself could have penned them – a high accolade for what in itself is usually a complete afterthought in a premium coupe.