Ten more recent Mazda concepts to mull over

If you've not seen the Takeri concept, we strongly suggest you take a look. As well as gently hinting at the next-gen Mazda 6's looks, it's a concept, so the styling's rather special.
 
But not as special as some of Mazda's recent concepts. After a short bun fight, lots of shouting and approximately 15 rude words, we've finally settled on this top ten of our recent favourites.
 
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Revealed at the Paris motor show, this little eco-leaf had a 1.3-litre direct-injection petrol engine mated to an auto ‘box with stop-start tech. And yes. It's too orangey for crows.

 
Learn Japanese, one concept at a time. Today's word is Kazamai. Ka. Za. Mai. It means ‘swirling crosswinds'. And it probably explains why this show car, rendered in Mazda's Nagare design language and built as an eco compact crossover, is so swirly.

 
Someone at Mazda clearly likes catamarans, as evidenced by this hydrogen-powered RX-8 wannabe's slightly bonkers rear hull.

 
Look how happy it is! Mazda's cheery little Hakaze coupe/roadster/SUV was targeted at a bit of an odd demographic - kite surfers aged between 30 and 40. No, really. The switchgear's sand-proof and everything. It got a 2.3-litre petrol turbo engine from the 6 MPS, which produced around 260bhp, driving all four wheels.

 
It means "flow" in Japanese and was designed to capture the "spirit of motion". The attack's a bit melted-RX-8, but there are hundreds of nice little details beyond - the funky explosion rear lights, hollow-spoke rims and licked-up rear section make us fizz.

Based on an MX-5 underneath, it had a rather curious interior. Apparently, it was built using regenerated leather substrate, mostly from post-industrial waste recovered from the Nike factory. This year's RX-8 owes a lot of its looks to the Kabura.
 

 
It's made it this far up the list largely because it has a fantastic name. It looks, umm, interesting too. Engine wise, it got a 1.3-litre four-pot mated to a push-button automatic transmission.

 
It's tiny, each one of its 18-inch wheels looks is on the very edge of the bodywork and it's powered by a 177 hp 1.6 straight four. As you'd imagine, power's sent to the rear. Nice.

 
Handsome beast, isn't it? Despite the decidedly concepty looks, this one had a proper interior and even drove. The engine noise was a curios blend of rotary and piston, too. Expect it in 2012, people.

 
Possibly the most jaw-dropping concept... in the world. It's based on an LMP2 endurance racer underneath, which means it's got a mid-mounted 450bhp rotary engine modified to run on E100 ethanol.
 
When it launched at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, Mazda's then design chief, Laurens van den Acker, said: "It's really important that we create some cars that end up on an eight-year old kid's bedroom wall. People don't dream enough any more." Quite right too.