Autocar

Mazda has revealed the first glimpse of its new design language: the Shinari concept.

The Japanese manufacturer wheeled out the four-door coupe show car at a design event in Milan, but official 'studio' renderings of the car have also leaked out onto the web.

The new design language is called Kodo, which means 'soul of motion' in Japanese. It's designed to replace the nature-influenced Nagare language. The firm's global design chief, Ikeo Maeda, told journalists at the Milan event that the car "will lead to the next generation of Mazda design".

The future of the Shinari concept is less clear. It could be a close preview of the next-generation Mazda 6, test mules of which were unveiled at last week's Mazda engineering showcase. Alternatively, a modified version of the Shinari could become an indirect successor to the RX-8, which has become a victim of Euro5 emissions regulations.

The Shinari's key styling cues include a prominent, gaping-mouth grille that does away with Nagare's 'smiling face', ultra-slim headlights and an Aston Martin-esque side vent just behind the front wheels. Inside, the concept is a strict four-seater.

 

 

Looks like an Aston Martin/Infiniti odd mix.

 

hmm dunno if i like it or not

 

Err... guys, it's been done:



I'm not a designer, but that "new" Mazda design language looks like the exact same shit as Infiniti.

 

Wow, why hire a designer when you can take the Essence concept from Infiniti and copy it!

Boooo!! for lack of originality! We want good looking and sleek cars but it's been done b4!

And where are the side windows? How am I supposed to drive that car if I can't see and check my blind spots? *Errrhhhh I turn and if it makes a gut wrenching sound, I stop to see the damage?* *cough*cough*cough*

 

Still it's a 4 door as opposed to 2 on the Infiniti.

I'd hit it at Mazda prices...if it stayed Mazda prices.

 

I dunno, several friends had or still have Mazdas (Mazda 3 in particular) and while they are cute, efficient cars, the finishing touches are quite bad, bumpers don't clip well and the exterior and servodirection tend to rust, why is bad or dangerous. My gf is up to her 3rd recall on her car, a 2007 Mazda3 with 20k miles on the odo. My neighbor traded his RX-8 because it was consuming way too much gas, about as much as a V8 400+hp car. He's much happier with his Accord Coupe.

I guess it's different strokes for different folks but I always tought that people are drawn to Mazda because Japanese cars = great reliability. I tend to disagree with this line of thoughts...I evaluate each model independantly of the brand...

 

Don't get me wrong, I like it, it's just that you don't claim to have come up with a "design language" when it looks exactly like something that's been done a while ago...

 

...at least it's not smiling at me.

 

For the last friggin' time 4 doors != coupe!

 

at least call it a fastback or something. That's like saying a 2-door sedan. Actually, I think that was the thing back in the day, now it's all about 4-door coupes

 

Not a fan of this concept.

Not a fan of this "4-door coupe" trend, either.

 

New Millenia?

 

This is the first thing I thought 1 second into seeing this car for the first time. It's still sick though.

 

New pictures
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/mazda...etail/#3310388

 

Wow, I like everything about the design-very sharp.

 

Dont care what it looks "kind of like".

That's a good looking sedan.

 

Is Mazda actually considering this or is Autoblog just hoping and dreaming hard enough that they read too much into Mazda's statement's? I do agree that a business case discussion makes you wonder.

How about a new RWD platform for the new RX-7 that can be enlarged for a sport sedan like this?

 

Ahem...

 

They've gone from a smile to a grumpy face.

 

QFT!

I know there'll never be a production Mazda that look exactly like this concept, but I sure hope that at least 80% of it will be carried over....

 

Somehow I don't believe the production car will be like this. Production cars never seem to take chances....will Mazda be different?

 

not bad

 

Looks like a catfish

 

....seems to have worked well for Nissan so far.

 

I actually like it

 

yeah i see the influence too, but it's still great. I would've love to see Acura come up with this. The 5-point grille is nicely done here.

 

Mazda doesn't pull off the design nearly as well as Infiniti did. The Essence is pure sex. The Mazda seems to be trying to hard, IMO.

 

I think it looks pretty bad ass considering its a concept

 

I like it!

 

Very Infiniti/Nissan fish-like design.

 

Hopefully they see Infiniti's success as encouragement!

 

I like this.

 

suite.

 

 

If that makes it into production, with RWD and a V8 under the hood. It'd proably have "luxury" price tag attached to it.
Mazda's new uber luxury 4 door coupe?

 

I wouldn't count on it.

 

a lot of new pictures on this link:

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/ma...test-pics.aspx

 

Doubt that if it goes into production (I'd say most concept cars never do) that it will stay true to the concept inside and out (even less likely). That said, the Camaro resembles the concept quite well, which is good and bad for the exterior, and just plain bad for the interior.

That interior looks great, just the stitching needs to be just a little bit finer and less conspicuous.