TOKYO–The Tokyo Motor Show is notable for the sheer number of concept cars it unveils – and for the sheer wackiness of some of them.
Only in Japan, for instance, would you find a concept car that looks like a Tylenol Gelcap whose interior is designed to please you like your favourite pet.
Only in Japan would you find an auto whose single seat reclines the faster you go.
While foreign carmakers show concept cars here – often important ones – it’s the Japanese companies that go over the top, re-imagining the automobile in ways that truly put the emphasis on the word “concept.”
MAZDA TAIKI
The latest in a string of concept cars showing off Mazda’s new, flowing design theme – complete with strakes down the sides à la 1980s Ferrari Testarossa – the Taiki is a long-hood, short-deck coupe that may hint at a future RX-7. With a rotary engine up front, driven wheels (under partial cover) at the rear and a compact two-seat cabin in between, this is one of the sportiest-looking cars at the show – and one that suggests it’s terrific to drive as well. The rear view, with the body curving down and around the wheels like a manta ray, is particularly attractive.
This rather long appendage to the Bugatti nameplate reflects a relationship that the factory says goes back to 1927 when Ettore Bugatti sought fitted luggage from the Parisian design house.
That relationship has come full circle in this limited-edition Bugatti with styling cues developed by Hermes. The Fgp appellation refers to Hermes’ headquarters on Rue du Faubourge Saint Honore in Paris.
It’s not just a color and paint trim package, although the sand-colored hood and rear decklid are the first indications that this package is special. The face of the car has been revamped with a brushed-aluminum trademark horse collar grille now flanked with a panel with two air inlets. All the mesh grilles — including the main radiator opening, lower inlets — engine air snorkels aft of the passenger cabin and the rocker panel inlets now have a pattern that reflect the Hermes “H” motif.
Inside, sand-colored leather covers all the surfaces, and even the inside door pulls have been reconfigured to looks more like luggage latches than door handles.
Bespoke leather on the interior, and Hermes logos on the wheel hubs and fuel-filler door speak to the car’s pedigree. The car retains its legendary performance from its 1001-bhp V-16 quad-turbocharged engine, which enables a factory-claimed 0–62 -mph run of 2.6 seconds. The price? Nearly $2 million.
