This, fellow Mazdaristi, is a car with very young DNA. The next-generation Mazda Deep Orange 3 concept was conceived and engineered by students at the Clemson University International Centre for Automotive Research in Traverse City, Michigan, while the body panels were the work of another student, Frederick Naaman at the Art Centre College of Design in Pasadena, California.
Mazda North American design director Derek Jenkins, for Operations said being part of a college programme that focused not just on one aspect of a vehicle, but the vehicle as a whole, was an automaker's dream come true.
"These students have provided fresh and inventive ideas from sketch pad to sheet metal."
The concept's load-bearing structure is based on innovative sheet-folding technology patented by Industrial Origami, with an unusual 3+3 seating layout and a specially-developed hybrid powertrain that automatically chooses between front, rear or all-wheel drive.
Stewart Reed, chairman of transportation design for the Art Centre College of Design, explained: "Deep Orange offers companies an exclusive opportunity to showcase advanced-vehicle technologies
"For designers and engineers alike, it's a rich experience of working directly with industry leaders to develop ideas, and the result is a physical, drivable vehicle - nothing could be more exciting for our students."
Each year, a prototype vehicle is developed with a new market focus and technical objectives, so that the program provides students with experience in vehicle design, development, prototyping and production planning.