The Mazda Kiyora was a concept car made by Mazda. It was first introduced at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. It was the planned next generation urban compact car intended to replace the Mazda2, although it never entered production.[1] It was a design study for next-generation compact car and also an engineering study of high fuel efficiency gasoline engine. The design theme of the Mazda Kiyora was water. It was applied to a city, a new trend in the automotive market due to environmental concerns. The Mazda Kiyora achieved 32 km/L of fuel efficiency and 90g/km of CO2 emission.
Styling
Design
The Mazda Kiyora, meaning “clean and pure”, was designed for young city drivers. The design of the Mazda Kiyora was a collaborative work between Mazda Europe and Mazda Japan.
Exterior
The Mazda Kiyora had two butterfly doors and a tailgate. It had four seats and the rear two seats could be folded. The body frame was streamlined like Mazda's former concept car the Nagare series. The roof and two side doors were made with transparent material so you could see the monocoque & frame structure from the outside. It was designed not only to look like water stream, but also to increase the safety while decreasing the weight.[2]
Interior
The dashboard inside the car used a touch screen technology. The driver could move and organize the icons including all the meters and audio system on the display.
One notable feature of Mazda Kiyora was its roof. The roof was designed to collect rain water and purify it through an installed filter. The water was saved in a bottle installed in the car so that passengers could drink it.[3]
Technology
Engine
The Mazda Kiyora used a 1.3-liter gasoline-powered four-cylinder direct-injection engine. The engine employed Mazda's unique idle reduction technology called “i-stop” and a more efficient six-speed automatic transmission. Mazda's “i-stop” system saved fuel in stop and go urban traffic by shutting down the engine automatically when the vehicle was stationary and restarting quickly and quietly. The Mazda Kiyora also used deceleration energy to charge the battery.[4]
Body and Fuel Efficiency
To minimize its weight, the body frame was all carbon fiber. The Mazda Kiyora also used lightweight materials for interiors. These new materials made the Mazda Kiyora 100 kg lighter than the Mazda2. These technologies enabled the Mazda Kiyora to perform 32 km/L of mileage. It could have had the highest fuel efficiency of gasoline engine cars if it ever went into production. The Mazda Kiyora also produced less than 90g/km of CO2 emission.
References
^"2008 PARIS AUTO SHOW". Automotive News Europe: 8. Sep 29, 2008.
