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Mazda's Suitcase Car Could've Forever Changed Air Travel
And it "only took a minute to assemble."
By David Mantey, Contributed by Eric SorensenUnit -- Industrial Equipment News
In the early 1990s, Mazda was on a heater. The company's new MX-5 roadster was in high demand and, in 1991, it became the first Japanese automaker to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Mazda was at the forefront of innovations like the rotary engine, including one that was even hydrogen-powered.
The company created an in-house competition, called Fantasyard, to challenge internal teams from various departments to come up with new modes of mobility, and one winner still has the industry asking, "What if...?"
The Suitcase Car was essentially a three-wheeled go-kart designed to make those close airport connections a little more manageable, maybe even a little more fun.
Created by seven Mazda engineers from the manual transmission testing and research unit, the idea received a small budget to create a physical prototype. So, the team bought a mini-motorcycle and a large Samsonite suitcase and went to work.
The mini-bike's 34-cubic-centimeter (cm3) two-stroke engine was installed into a 57 cm x 75 cm (22.4" x 29.5") suitcase that could reach nearly 19 mph.
Mazda says the final design "only took a minute to assemble." However, weighing 70.5 pounds, it wasn't the easiest bag to move around, and modern airport security would likely take issue with the gas-filled pull-start motor. But hey, I can think of, and have experienced, many worse ways to spend your time at an airport.
The model made for the U.S. market is the only one that remains in existence. Mazda's original was "accidentally destroyed," and the disappearance of the one made for the European market remains a modern mystery.
The Suitcase Car is "still an entertaining concept to look back on, and it's interesting to see how ideas like that foreshadow today's conversations around mobility, electrific
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Source : Mazda's Suitcase Car Could've Forever Changed Air Travel | Industrial Equipment News
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