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"Sassou", says Mazda "is a Japanese term that was chosen because it means having a positive state of mind, of looking to the future with optimism." The sporty Sassou concept car hints at Mazda's plans for its next-generation supermini to replace the slow-selling, rather dull Mazda2: a three-door hatchback designed and developed at Mazda's European centre near Frankfurt, it was conceived with young first-time buyers in particular in mind. Though German-built, the Mazda design teams in Irvine, California, and Yokohama, Japan had input, and it refers to several Japanese concepts: firstly, 'shoji', or thin rice-paper doors which partially hide what is behind them. In a similar vein, the Sassou has partially-hidden front and rear lamp LED graphics, behind translucent plastic which becomes clear when the car is unlocked. "The Shoji-like attributes of our design hide and then suddenly reveal various things with an illumination system that makes the car seem to spring to life," said Frankfurt-based designer Masanori Minamisawa. "We call it Mazda Alive because the lighting cascades and pulses like it's being circulated by heartbeats just below the surface of the car."
Styled so that its curves and shapes echo the outline of the Mazda five-point grille, the Sassou is aerodynamically-curved, with low-resistance mirrors and door handles which rotate outwards when touched, but retract into the door panel when not in use.
Tech-friendly touches include a USB port for a stick-key, rather than a conventional ignition system; the key retains information on preferred cabin settings as well as music. "The USB stick key idea is the result of our targeting younger drivers," said interior designer Mickael Loyer. "We conceive the Sassou as having its own hard disc drive, security code recognition and Mazda software for owners, including a navigation programme that could be downloaded onto the vehicle's USB stick key. The owner could download the music he wants to listen to that day, directions to his favourite pub or beach hang-out, using the USB stick key on his computer at home. When he inserts it into the Mazda Sassou interface slot, it would then automatically download onto the concept's hard drive."
On a further clever note, the rear area of the cabin is designed around accomodating just one person, but its seat can be expanded by a compressed-air system to take another. The two front bucket seats, in a lighter-coloured fabric than the floor to create a 'floating' effect, fold electrically for easy rear access, and the rear seats can be folded flat in the floor to create a loadspace of up to 1360litres.
Though just a show car at the moment, the Sassou has been conceived around the idea of a small but powerful petrol or diesel engine; a new three-cylinder, direct-injection turbocharged 1.0-litre petrol unit currently under development is in mind. This could be fitted with a six-speed twin-clutch paddle-shift transmission also on the way for future Mazda production models.
Mazda's Frankfurt stand also showcases the Crossport concept seen in Detroit - the precursor to the CX-7 family station wagon/4x4 crossover already confirmed for production in autumn 2006 - alongside the third-generation MX-5 roadster, the 260bhp Mazda6 MPS.