UPDATE: More eye-slicing pictures added into the gallery.
The people of North America can finally get a good look at Mazda’s Takeri Concept, which made its debut at the 2012 New York International Auto Show. The last time we saw it was at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show.
Takeri is the third interpretation of the Kodo (or Soul of Motion) and is an evolution of the Shinari concept. The Kodo design has also spawned the Minagi concept, which went on to become the Mazda CX-5. So what you see here may just appear on the road in the very near future.
The name, Takeri, is derived from the Japanese word meaning ‘male’, which matches the vehicle’s masculinity. The Kodo elements are easily identifiable – sharp five-point grille, chiseled front fascia, pronounced and sword-sharp bodylines. It is as if Ikuo Maeda, Mazda’s Design Chief, has taken the katana and carved out this car from a block of metal. Stunning.
It is all about purposeful simplicity when talking about Takeri’s interior. Satin chrome is used selectively and intelligently throughout the mostly-black instrument panel. The control dials, door panels, in-dash navigation, three-spoke steering wheel give off a soft metallic sheen especially when struck by natural light. Racing-inspired paddle shifters, allow pedals and ceramic-white leather seats completes the sporty ambitions of the brand.
Takeri is the first concept vehicle to feature the SkyActiv-D diesel engine. If you don’t know already, SkyActiv Technology is Mazda’s all-encompassing term that focuses developing affordable, fuel-efficient vehicles without culling performance and the joy of driving.
This concept car gets the SkyActiv royal flush – transmission, engine, body and chassis. The ace in this is the SkyActiv-D 2.2 litre clean diesel engine that is said to be lighter than the current MZR-CD 2.2 litre diesel by 10%, reduces internal friction by 20% and improves fuel economy by 20%.
No official numbers but Mazda said that the SkyActiv-D uses a two-stage turbocharger that punches power across the engine range up to 5,200 rpm. It also boats the world’s lowest compression ratio for a diesel engine at 14.0:1, which makes the diesel burn cleaner with less NOx discharge. In fact, it produces virtually no soot, thus requires to NOx aftertreatments needed by conventional engines.
Two more fuel-saving technologies make its way into the Takeri, the ‘i-stop’ idling stop system and the ‘i-ELOOP’ regenerative braking system.
The i-stop clocks the world’s fastest diesel engine restart at 0.4 seconds. While the rest of the world’s stop-start system require two engine cycles, the i-stop uses only a single cycle by way of carefully positioning the pistons as the engine halts. Mazda says it results in smoother acceleration and significant improvement in stop-and-go fuel economy. This system is already available in cars sold in Japan, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
i-ELOOP gets its name from ‘Intelligent Energy Loop’ and it is the world’s first capacitor-based regenerative braking system. The basic idea is that the kinetic energy of a decelerating vehicle is converted into electricity by way of an electric motor or alternator, which will then by typically stored in a dedicated battery.
Mazda’s i-ELOOP, however, uses a capacitor, which temporarily stores large volume of electricity and avoids the need for a dedicated motor and battery. The transformation uses a 12-25V variable voltage alternator, a low-resistance electric double layer capacitor and a DC-to-DC converter to get the job done. Mazda’s system uses the freshly converted energy to power climate control, audio systems and other electrical components. The i-ELOOP will be introduced into Mazda vehicles starting 2012.
If the pictures are anything to go by, the Takeri is one of the most stunning car designs to come out of Japan in recent years. Then again, Mazda have always known to add a lot of Zoom-Zoom in their car designs.
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1 word. perfect. terbaik
So excited ! Wow the new Mazda front looks very angry and very serious now ! for me Mazda is the best looking Japanese cars !
Chris Ng –
So is this the Mazda 6 replacement model?
U did not mention ….
Yes, everything points towards Mazda 6. Start saving!!
yeah….gonna start saving for the mazda 6 now…..
i wonder will malaysia get any hybrid or diesel variant of this car……gonna trade in my mazda 3 for this sweet babe.
Camry balik kampong!!
This is so pretty!! Come to Malaysia and I will sell all my family members cars for this!!!
serious face.
I thought takeri means whale penis that use as tonic (something like tongkat ali here)
IS THIS PREVIEW OF MAZDA6?
Hat off to Mazda.
This IS a real ALL NEW product.
Rather than few simple make up, and voilà – ALL NEW!!!
indeed shame on T …. New Camry but doesn’t fit to be new…maybe facelift should be better for it
Mazda becoming most innovative japanese auto manufacturer, designs and current products look good and with good quality. Hopefully mazda 6 will look similar to the concept, still many will go for the camry with 4spd..kaka
that is good for buyers off mazda 6 right? you wouldn’t want to see the mazda 6 as common as the camry
Reminds me of Aston Martin sedan.. dammit all sedans should look like this. What’s holding everyone back?
When can we see something like this from our national car maker?
wait long long i think…
Probably when it is not our “national” car…
almsot 80% of all new CX5 orders were for the diesel version, Mazda is truly smart to not follow the hybrid band wagon of lethargic heavy battery lugging lawsuit prone fail to achieve mileage claims of honda and toyota
MAzda pls bring the diesel version to malaysia and tune it to euro2 diesel. i sure buy!
this look awesome…. but unfortunately there are more ‘uncle-taste’ here in Msia… Toyota or Honda are not worried at all with this aggresive and beauty look coz they know they can still sell well their cars here..
But i think T & H have to worry coz M’sian uncle now prefer the exterior,safety and the performance already…hyundai,Kia and de VW Passat r everywhere now even the Proton Bold,Inspira and the upcoming Preve r start killing the T & H junks !
Looks like Mazda has a real winner in it’s hands. As shown with the 6, it not only looks good, it’s brilliant to drive, well-made, not to mention reasonably priced, considering the fact that’s it’s a full import, and has more toys than your usual Camry or Accord.
Not the most common car, but in general day-to-day driving, it’s a car that’ll make us walk away with a big grin.
fuyoh! exterior is perfect. i like the aircon dials. like alien spaceship. just the meter cluster has too much silver that will blind us in sunny malaysia. Otherwise looks production ready!
I recall Mazda once said they want to become the Alfa Romeo of Asia, but with this car, they would surpass that : I can see the sexiness of Alfa and the handsomeness of Audi as well..
Bravo..!
Nicely done, but sadly it will not be enough to save the company from the brink of collapse.
The front looked ugly and out-fashioned design
Err ..Uncle arr, you think Camry looks better then this right? Ya la, correct correct.
out-fashioned design kepala hotak kau
really hope d production car nearly same as this concept..truly beautiful..what can i say, this is the best looking japanese sedan car so far..good job Mazda..
Stunning concept . hope it wont have much difference when it is launch .
Hopefully Mazda will appoint a better distributor when this car arrive in Malaysia.
Fed up with Bermaz,service centre is very bad,in quality of workmanship,attitude,parts stocks.,not so good waiting area.
Wish Mazda can have as good service as UMWToyota.
But I hate Toyota cars,boring and expensive,and stingy with the specs.
Guaranteed minimum RM 200k.
wah…so serious..woo….i bet if this car come to malaysia the price will over 200k!!…this is bolehland maa…everything can…
Absolutely gorgeous! Enough said. Mazda should put this into production ASAP!
This is when you realise Toyota really have bad appeal on their design nowadays.
You’ll only find them sharp curves all the damn way with Mazda.
Well trust me.. after 4 years with my Mazda6, it still turns head! Whats more with this new one..
If the production model is substantially close to this, i will be a freaking idiot to still buy a H or T. But then, Bermaz will be reading all our responses and will be thinking… hmm… perhaps we should price it higher. I have this to say to Tan Sri V – remember your MiTV (the decoder costs around 700-800 if i still remember correctly)… try overcharging for a product which is still fighting against a dominant player(s) and you are guaranteed to doooommm….
are they going to adopt same concept on mazda3?