GALLERY
INTRODUCTION
Well, there are numerous concept cars from so many automotive companies but there are only a few that are fully functional such as Lamborghini Sesto Elemento which is now kept for display. But the story behind the Mazda Furai is tragic. It had met with a tragedy that let this unsung beast remain in the dust. The legend behind the car is so heartbreaking. So, Indulge yourself into the legend of the Furai.
BEAST WAS UNLEASHED
Yeah, the car from the Japanese manufacturer "MAZDA" revealed their Jaw-dropping Wankel powered concept car named "FURAI" which is, of course, a Japanese word meant to as "Sound of the Wind". The Furai debuted at the "Detroit Auto Show" on 11 Dec 2008 which is one year after the car is revealed by the company on 27 Dec 2007. For the promotional purpose of the car, Mazda released a teaser picturing the image of the Furai on 11 Dec 2007. It caught everyone's eyes that were on the show because of the aggressive look it had. Soon it took for testing that there were plans with the company Mazda to make it to race in the "24 Hrs of Le-mans".
TECHNICAL SPECS
The specifications of this car are as stunning as it looks. Look below to know its complete biology.
ENGINE 20B 3-Rotor Engine (Tuned by team "RACING BEAT")
TRANSMISSION X-Trac 6- Speed Automatic
KERB WEIGHT 675 Kg (1488 lbs)
MAX POWER 450 BPH
MAX TORQUE 330 Nm @7000 rpm
FUEL E100 Ethanol fuel
DRIVE Rear Wheel Drive
PLATFORM Courage competition C65 LMP2
BRAKE Made by Brembo
You may not be surprised with the numbers above but the power to weight ratio will astonish you.
POWER : WEIGHT 681 BHP/tonne
The power to weight ratio of the Furai is remarkably more than the world's fastest production car "Bugatti Veyron supersport". Isn't that amazing!
It had the legendary Wankel-Rotary Engine which was a 3-Rotor model (1962 cc) that screamed like hell. The Furai was lighter than even a modern hatchback "Ford Fiesta RS". Furai used a different type of fuel that most of you are not familiar with. It was the first rotary engine to be powered by Ethanol which was developed by the team "Racing Beat". The suspension of the car was custom made by "Sach and Eibach" and the wheels were made by "BBS".
Being powered with a Rotary Engine, It wouldn't have made its debut without the Racing beat team because you all would aware that Rotary Engines. The Engine has perfectly tuned the engine to meet the emission norms which was track ready to race in the "American Le-mans Series" (ALMS), 2008.
DESIGN
The Furai was completely designed by "Swift Engineering Company" which is originated in America. They are famous for their engineering works for Formula Ford, Formula Atlantic, Formula Nippon, etc,... The body of the car was made from Carbon-Fibre composite and the Interiors of the car are also made by them.
The interior was fully functional with a minimalistic design with a digital display and seats were Electronically controlled to suit the Driver's position. The Aerodynamics of the car was shaped well enough to draw the air that is needed to cool the engine bay.
A very remarkable design is its huge spoiler that is wider than its own body, providing a tonne of downforce to the car to stick onto the road. Furai was also installed with a "Single Exhaust Setup" that was screaming like Armageddon. Listen to the Furai screaming on the track 12 years ago.
The doors were made with Butterfly hinges, giving an even more aggressive look to the car.
NUMBER "55"
Furai wore the number "55" as a tribute to 1991, "24 Hrs of Le-Mans" winner "Mazda 787B". It had the platform "Courage C65 LMP2" which made its clear linkage with the Le-mans event.
LEAD DESIGNER Franz Von Holzhausen
He is also very well known for his work in other bespoke car brands like "TESLA" and particularly the Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y, and the Cybertruck too.
NAGARE LINE-UP
It belongs to the "Mazda Nagare concept" line up from 2006. There are totally five concept cars in the line-up. They are as follows,
Mazda Nagare
Mazda Ryuga
Mazda Hakaze
Mazda Taiki
Mazda Furai
As you see above, Mazda Furai is the fifth and the final car in the line-up and crowned as the most popular car in the series.
DEMISE OF FURAI
The only Furai that was ever made appeared in so many car events. However, the first media outlet that got its hands on the car was the Top Gear for testing it on Bentwaters Park, driven by "Mark Ticehurst" on 19, Aug, 2008. On that particular day, the car wasn't seemed to be normal as it would be. The problem it was facing was overheating of the engine. For whatever, the reason the car was parked away and the team was not aware of the catastrophe that was gonna happen. All of a sudden, Furai caught fire, and Top gear being responsible had fire brigade but it was all that 8 minutes that led to the death of "Sound of the Wind".
AFTER ITS DEATH
After completely burnt, the remains of the Furai was taken back to the "Advanced Design Studio" in Irvine, California. So, Yes this is pretty much all we know about the dead legend.
Written by: Porselvan M
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