The Mazda Furai Concept car is set to "storm" into the Detroit Auto Show, literally. That's because the car will not be just another automotive 'mannequin' on display as most concept cars are.

The Mazda Furai Concept is fitted with an fully functioning engine. The Japanese word Furai, when translated, means "sound of wind". Indeed, as the video link below testifies, the car sounded like a raging tempest when it was put through its paces at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The Furai is capable of delivering 450 horsepower from its mid-mounted, three-rotor Mazda 20B rotary engine fueled by E100 ethanol. The designers at Mazda also worked extensively with Swift Engineering on the concept's fluid dynamics and innovative air intake configurations. 

While the Furai is not expected to take to the highways or hit the race tracks at Le Mans anytime soon, in the words of one automotive magazine editor, "the Furai provides a glimpse of both Mazda's future design direction and its motorsports intent".

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