Autoblog

click above for more images of the Mazdaspeed Demio Concept

Here's another one that we're very curious to read more about when Mazda gets around to issuing its sweeping Tokyo Auto Salon release. The car shown, of course, is the Demio, a.k.a. Mazda2, a.k.a one of the cool non-US market cars we'd love to see in our local showrooms. In this case, it's a fully-dressed Mazdaspeed Demio concept. In addition to the full aero package (new bumpers, spoilers, skirts, inserts, etc.), it boasts Mazdaspeed wheels, brakes, and likely some suspension upgrades. Whether there are any changes under the hood is not currently known, but it'd be a shame to look that fast with no guts to back it up. Inside, two-tone racing seats and various dress-up bits bring the Demio's cabin upmarket. We'd rather see a manual transmission instead of the show car's automatic, but if Mazda does decide to go all the way and produce a Mazdaspeed2/Demio somewhere down the line, were sure that a manual cog-swapper would be part of the mix. At the very least, we now have a very good idea of what such a car would probably look like.

[Source: Carview]

Click either image for a gallery of high-res pics.

Mazda's presence at the Tokyo Auto Salon, the great aftermarket emporium in the East, will be marked with three Mazdaspeed concepts that should give us an insight into what's in store for the automaker's in-house performance arm.

The Atenza/Mazda6 concept we saw last week will be joined by hotted-up Axela (Mazda3) and Demio (Mazda2) models that receive a fair share of body enhancements and interior upgrades. Unfortunately, Mazda has yet to release an English language press release on its Japanese site and Google doesn't seem to be keen on providing a translation. However, we know that Japanese tuning houses, Ken Style and DAMD, had their hands in the development, so we'll see what's released when the show gets underway January 11 through 13.

[Sources: Mazda, Carview]