HIROSHIMA, Japan — Mazda said it will bring the latest in a series of advanced concept vehicles to the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. Called Furai, it represents an evolution of the Japanese automaker's emerging new design language, which it calls nagare ("flow").

Ford's Japanese affiliate released few details on the Furai ("sound of the wind"), but said it would use the Courage C65 racecar chassis that Mazda campaigned in the 2005 American Le Mans Series, as well as that vehicle's 450-horsepower three-rotor rotary engine. The Furai concept is designed to run on 100-percent ethanol (E100).

What this means to you: Mazda is creating some of the most exciting and advanced design concepts in the business. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent

"Furai takes Mazda's unique Nagare (Japanese for "flow") design language a step further as it is translated into a concept car based on an American Le Mans Series (ALMS) racing car. The car utilizes the Courage C65 chassis the company campaigned in the ALMS series only two seasons ago, and the 450-hp three-rotor rotary engine that distinguishes it from anything else on the track."