Mazda Motor Corp. will stage the world debut of its Nagare concept car at the upcoming Los Angeles auto show.
The Nagare (na-gah-reh) is the fourth in a series of recent exploratory design concepts, the auto maker says. It follows the Sassou shown in 2005 in Frankfurt; Senku unveiled in 2005 in Tokyo; and Kabura that bowed in January at the Detroit auto show.
“Nagare is a celebration of proportions and surface language that will evolve into subsequent designs planned for presentation at future international auto shows,” says Laurens van den Acker, recently tapped to replace Moray Callum as general manager of Mazda’s Design Div.
Van den Acker says the Nagare “examines light and shadow” and carries design cues that will be present on next-generation Mazda models.
Mazda North American Operations Design Director Franz Von Holzhausen says Nagare’s sheet metal was inspired by “the movement of nature’s elements,” and that Mazda’s designers have been able to depict motion, energy and lightness through Nagare’s design.
Von Holzhausen headed the Nagare design team at MNAO’s Irvine, CA, headquarters.
The Nagare concept will bow Nov. 29 at the L.A. show.
