New car news

30 June 2011 - 07:00

Mazda Minagi Concept

In the first of a flurry of pre-Australian Motor Show sneak peeks, reveals, intimate discussions and unveilings, Mazda debuted its latest concept to a small grandstand of local journos in Melbourne last night. Alongside the uber-sexy Shinari Concept four-door sports sedan, the Minagi is, except for the door handles and mirrors, Mazda's new CX-5 mid-size SUV. It was unveiled in sketch form at the Geneva show as the second translation of the company's new Kodo design language.

More pics of the Minagi HERE

Mazda's head designer Ikuo Maeda told us that he doesn't waste time and money building "dream concepts", which makes a lot of sense for one of Japan's smaller car makers. He did, however, take us through a series of sketches and drawings that directly relates the entire future of Mazda to the African cheetah. Weird, granted, but it worked...

The CX-5 may well replace the CX-7 in the existing Aussie line up, but no decisions have been made there yet. It will use Mazda's new SkyActive diesel and petrol powerplants, though. Maeda-san spoke briefly about the advantages of designing cars with more compact drivetrains (like electric cars, for example), but didn't really go into specifics, even when plied with wine...

The Minagi nee CX-5 should lob into Aussie showrooms mid-way through 2012. In the meantime, have a gander at a collection of Mazda's mental concepts from the last few years HERE.