Geneva 2011: Mazda Minagi Concept Previews New Crossover

The Mazda MINAGI concept car embodies Mazda’s new SKYACTIV technologies and new KODO design language, signaling the way for the next generation of Mazda cars to come

The MINAGI concept showcases characteristics likely to be seen in the next generation of Mazda cars. For this reason, Mazda has fully incorporated its SKYACTIV technologies into every aspect of driving performance, including the powertrain, chassis, and even body design. MINAGI challenges conventions with emotional design and exhilarating performance.

MINAGI’s design elements combine the expression of energy pulsing throughout the vehicle with the keen agility to move about freely and nimbly. With its upright, compact packaging, MINAGI offers a vision of KODO design that is different to SHINARI, yet it shares the same sinuous, powerful stance.

“I wanted to convey something different from the Mazda SHINARI. I felt a compact crossover SUV was the perfect vehicle to express agility and focused movement; the flexibility of four limbs moving in unison, and an upright posture.”

Masashi Nakayama
Chief Designer, MINAGI Concept

Mazda MINAGI is a stylish expression of pent-up energy. In Japanese, its name conjures up the image of an object pulsating with energy and perfectly reflects the vehicle’s speed, agility and spirited character. For MINAGI, Mazda designers looked at different aspects of cheetahs as they hunt. A cheetah’s head is positioned high, while long, powerful and supple limbs hold its lean torso upright to enable it to change direction quickly at high speed. Mazda’s designers set out to evoke the moment when an animal contracts its muscles, ready to lunge at its prey. Such a lunge can be in any direction; an idea which fits with the function of an agile crossover SUV as it darts through a sprawling cityscape.

At a glance / MINAGI Concept

Exterior Proportions

The cargo bay of conventional SUVs often resembles a vehicle wearing a backpack, whereas MINAGI presents an image of a muscular entity that cleanly incorporates spaciousness within well-toned lines
Placing the A-pillar rearward emphasizes the rearward orientation of the cabin. This stands in sharp contrast to the single-arc silhouette of frontward A-pillar placement on minivans, and emphasizes the driving position; a priority of this design
The cabin’s position relative to the lower body is further back than on conventional SUVs. This emphasizes the motion expressed in MINAGI’s form
Front view

The chromed ‘signature wing’ on the front fascia, shared with SHINARI, makes MINAGI immediately recognizable as a Mazda and creates a strong impression
Angling the front grille slightly downwards, while juxtaposing the headlamp housings design to slant upward, creates intensity
Adding more dynamic contours to the prominent front fenders – highly characteristic of Mazda cars – expresses KODO design language’s forceful sense of accumulating, then instantly releasing, pent-up energy. These elements combine with the dynamic form of the rear fenders further emphasizing the wheels, which form the legs of this predator
Side view

Sculpted lines along the sides of MINAGI’s body accentuate a sense of power which suggests the supple strength of a cheetah. These contours extend and connect with the rear fender in an expression which suggests the powerful musculature that joins the cheetah’s shoulders and hips to its legs
The character line that flows along the lower part of MINAGI’s side panels symbolizes KODO’s sense of power being accumulated then quickly released
Rear view

The rear fenders project boldly outward to create a wide, stable stance befitting an SUV
The contrast between the rear fenders and the taut lines of the car’s rear end mimics the strong and seductive hip line of a toned athlete
Headlamp design

As with SHINARI, the chromed ‘signature wing’ that sweeps up from the bottom of the front grille disappears dramatically into the centre of the headlamp housings
The designs of the three-dimensional headlamp and rear combination lamps add a heightened sense of depth
The line of the ‘signature wing’ element and the headlamp design combine to express the intense look of a wild animal’s gaze
Interior design – High quality expressed in every detail Aims

Mazda’s designers set out to realise a driver-focused cockpit and a cabin environment that expresses a reassuringly high level of strength and solidity.
Superior fit and finish adds to the anticipation of the driving pleasure to come by creating a refined and quality cabin environment
The main black interior colour is contrasted by the colour red in the rear seatbacks and at the bottom of the door armrests
Characteristics unique to a compact crossover SUV

Four upright satin chrome struts appear to support the instrument panel, each rising upward in an image of vertical strength which appears to defy gravity, underscoring the impression that MINAGI’s occupants are securely protected
The design of the instrument cluster and surrounding switches emphasizes the snug, sporty nature of the driver-focused cockpit, while expressing Mazda’s sporty ethos
Craftsmanship

Leather seats and door trim have been fashioned using the finest leather available
Carefully sewn raised pleats express the interior’s high level of quality
The ‘black smoked’ coating on the dark tinted horizontal metal panel – positioned along the centre of the instrument panel – shows the high quality of the interior components
Solid metal components, including the door handles, are milled from aluminium and carefully polished to provide a smooth, quality-enhancing surface.
The door handles are designed to resemble the beauty and functionality of high-end racing bicycle components