If Mazda made a motorcycle again, would it look like this?

Cédric Rouvroy, a French transportation designer based in Paris, who specializes in motorcycle design, has presented a Mazda concept to appeal to the Alpha Generation. Interestingly, this is not a revival of the RX-7 or the reimagining of a Mazda MX-5, but a motorcycle with the ‘Winged-M’ that Rouvroy says is designed for city and highway cruising.

Here’s the motorcycle explained to ElectricVehicleWeb by Cédric –

What is the basis of the project?

This project is based on the intuitiveness that Mazda proposes in its vehicles, and the emotion they seek to share in their design. For this, I decided to be inspired by the Japanese culture with the Samurais. They are, for me, people who have two facets: the first one is the art of control during training with fighting techniques, mediation, etc. Then the second is during the fights, where the samurai gives all he has to give. Then I reinterpreted this in two ways to use this bike : a cruise mode with the seat, second, a mode without the seat to feel more emotion with a fun side inspired by the electric scooters ATV.

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On the design & styling of the bike

I wanted an aggressive styling and because Mazda is a Japanese brand, I wanted to be inspired from the Samurai; a Samurai with the tools like a sword. When you see the side of the motorcycle, it will reflect the aspects of the sword. It’s a two panel design because it was difficult to interpret Mazda’s Jinba-Ittai design reference; when you talk about Mazda, you talk about red volume with light and shadow. I wanted to reflect that on the motorcycle. I played on this part because it was a big reference to demonstrate that it’s a Mazda bike.

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For the seat, I was very particular because there are two positions for the seat; we have one position for the city and one for longer trips. I wanted to create a bike that is suitable for both city and long trips; the seat can be set flat or elevated to suit the needs of the rider. When you put down the seat, it integrates with the rear mono suspension and there’s the dual suspension setup to the front. The battery pack is integrated towards the front of the bike.

My point on this project was to just create a new design, a new opportunity for a brand. I wanted to work on a two-wheeler because I liked motorcycles.

Mazda built its first motorcycle in 1929

Mazda’s history dates back to the year 1920, founded as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. The transformation from a cork to car manufacturer started with the production of 6 prototype motorcycles in 1929, and 30 two-wheeled bikes produced in 1930. The following year, the Hiroshima-based company produced a tricycle truck “Mazda-go”. However for the rest of its story, the company has largely stuck to making cars, buses, trucks and pickups, and this year introduced its first mass-produced electric car, the Mazda MX-30.