- "A racing car only possible at Mazda, using an ethanol-powered rotary engine."
- ―In-game catch text for the car, from GT6's Dealership
The Mazda Furai '08 was a concept car produced by Mazda. It appears in Gran Turismo PSP, Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo 6.
Unveiled at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, it was the 5th and final car in the Nagare series of designs. Unlike many concept cars, it was fully functional and was tested in various tracks. However, in September 2013, it was revealed that it was destroyed by a fire in August 2008, during a photo shoot for the Top Gear magazine. The destroyed car's remains are currently in Mazda's Advanced Design Studio in Irvine, California, but the exact location it was destroyed at is unknown.
Colors[]
Twelve colors are available, the first color option is unnamed in the games:
- Black (unnamed)
- Gran Turismo Black
- Gran Turismo Gun Metal Gray
- Gran Turismo Sliver
- Gran Turismo Champagne Gold
- Gran Turismo Red Metallic
- Gran Turismo Red
- Gran Turismo Yellow
- Gran Turismo Green Metallic
- Gran Turismo Blue Metallic
- Gran Turismo White Pearl
- Gran Turismo White
Description[]
The "Furai" was Mazda's concept car shown at the 2008 Detroit Motor Show.
It is the 5th design in the "Nagare" design concept series, and the word Furai, means "the sound of the wind". It was manufactured based on the Courage C65 chassis used by Mazda in the ALMS P2 racing class, and was mounted with a 3 rotor R20B rotary engine producing 444 BHP. As an environmentally friendly super performance machine, it is fuelled by BP's ethanol fuel, E100. The use of the 100% ethanol fuel in the rotary engine opens new doors for the possibilities of rotary engines in the future.
But aside from the Environmental performance and specs, the true attraction of the Furai is in its design. From the concept of 'a racing car cutting through wind', its form utilizes sharp lines flowing into soft curves, whilst executing effective aerodynamics. It has a distinctly Japanese flavor about it, and the delicate perfection of the design was highly praised by many, generating a large number of fans. The motifs from the front mask, utilizing flowing multilayered fins, lives on in the new Axela (Mazda 3) announced in 2009.
The Furai also performed test drives on the Laguna Seca, and drove publicly at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, entertaining visitors with its unique form and resonating rotary sound.
Mazda holds the record for winning the Le Mans with a rotary engine race car. The Furai is a car that brings to life a dream and possibility, that the rotary engine may once again return to the Le Mans in the future.
Acquisition[]
| Game | Purchase location | Credits | Other methods |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Turismo PSP | Mazda Dealership | 1,000,000 | --- |
| Gran Turismo 5 | Used Car Dealership (Lv. 23+) | Approx. 1,500,000 | Win the B-Spec NR-A Roadster Cup |
| Gran Turismo 6 | Mazda Dealership | 1,250,000 | --- |
Trivia[]
- It is considered as a race car in its Gran Turismo appearance. This is because the car's specifications suggest it as a hypothetical LMP2 car.
- It is the only car to have one unnamed color and the rest named in the games.
- It was featured in the series at least a year after it was destroyed in a fire during testing by Top Gear.