The Mazda Furai Concept

The Mazda Furai Concept was unveiled today at the Detroit Auto Show. We’ve already written about this car, Created as a celebration of Mazda’s rotary engine 40 years anniversary, Furai is Japanese for “the sound of wind” and is seen as the future on environmentally-friendly sports cars. The car is built to operate on 100% ethanol, however, Mazda and its partner, BP, are currently researching other fuel alternatives, such as ethanol/gasoline blends like E10.

Powered by the 450 hp RENESIS-based R20B three-rotor rotary engine, the Mazda Furai is based on a Courage C65 chassis and, featuring racing technologies, is able to reach over 180 mph top speed.

“The Mazda design and R&D teams worked closely with Swift Engineering to refine the aerodynamic characteristics, assuring that Furai remains glued to the ground at high speeds. Through its existing relationship with Swift Engineering, forged through development of the Mazda/Cosworth-powered Champ Car Atlantic single-seater chassis, the team used complex Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software to tune various Nagare design elements to function at a high degree of efficiency. Drag, downforce, lift and overall aesthetics were all key considerations.”