The Kazamai compact crossover is the SUV of the future, if Mazda have their way.

Designed specifically with the Russian market in mind, 'Kazamai' literally means 'swirling crosswinds' in Japanese, and was chosen to express the car's "powerful yet nimble character" billed as an evolution of the company's Nagare 'flow' design.

With a width of 1930mm and a length of 4520mm, it's slightly larger than the current Mazda3, with room for SUV comfort and functionality on the inside. Yet, because it is only 1500mm high, has a flat roofline and very short rear overhangs, it also has a sporty coupe look.

The body design features flared fenders that emphasise SUV-like strength and a cabin styled after that of a sports car. The wedge-shaped profile was designed to evoke the image of a sleek arrow cutting through a mighty wind. In particular, the body design between the front wheel arches and the roof pillars is intended to express the agility and dynamism of wind gusting along the side of the vehicle. And the panel lines on the sides represent swift and elegant crosswinds.

The bonnet itself is lower in the centre than at the sides, which emphasises the car's powerful front bumpers that accommodate large, 22-inch diameter wheels with 265/45 R22 tyres.

The alloy wheel design continues the crosswinds motif with each spoke carefully twisted and larger at the perimeter than in the centre, for a sense of movement. The five-point Mazda grille is integrated into the body which, together with the flared front lower sides, contributes to the car's aerodynamic characteristics. The aerodynamics are further improved by making the air intakes as small as possible. The side sill panels and rear combination light covers also help to control the wind flow and reduce drag more.

Weight reduction and aerodynamic performance are core technologies to improve both driving pleasure and environmental performance, especially improving fuel economy. So when Mazda set about reducing the bodyweight, they leveraged CAE applications and focused on four major areas: collision safety, handling, NVH, and strength. At the same time, lightweight materials and new processing/joining technologies were put to effective use. Aluminium or aluminium-alloy is used for the bonnet, chassis and engine block. The designers aimed to make Kazamai 100kg lighter than similar models by employing plastics for the panels, bumpers and the engine cover. These features also contribute to advanced handling and improved fuel economy and CO2 emissions.

The ideal powertrain match for the Mazda Kazamai concept would be the next-generation 2.0-litre direct-injection petrol engine, which Mazda engineers are currently developing. This engine delivers a balance of sporty driving with environmental performance. Mazda Kazamai will feature a DISI (Direct Injection Spark Ignition) engine based on the current Mazda CX-7?s engine, with advanced technologies to minimise energy loss and improved thermal efficiency. Mazda?s next generation 2.0-litre DISI petrol engine also has combustion control technology and variable valve control. This engine is coupled to a lightweight, next-generation compact six-speed automatic transmission, and with four-wheel drive. In combination with Kazamai, this powertrain would deliver an estimated 30 percent improvement in fuel consumption and emissions versus the current MZR 2.0-litre petrol.

But what's a new car without safety and security features? Its body shell is a product of a new body structure programme currently being refined at Mazda with a lightweight structure that provides high levels of crash safety. Kazamai also has active safety features including roll stability control, blind-spot monitoring to assist lane change, a pre-crash safety system and advanced dynamic stability control (DSC). And to meet future pedestrian safety requirements, it has soft plastic bumpers and a shock-cone aluminium bonnet that's efficient in absorbing impact energy.

Also onboard the Kazamai is a personal security system. This advanced system monitors the area around and inside the car, and has an automatic alert system which informs the driver in the event of an emergency to help to protect both the owner and occupants.