Mazda Museum to Hold 'Hydrogen Rotary Engine Vehicles'

[Sheriff!]

HIROSHIMA, Japan�Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that it will hold a summer event comprising two special exhibitions, �Hydrogen Rotary Engine Vehicles� and �Nagare Concept Cars,� at the Mazda Museum located within Mazda�s global headquarters facility in Hiroshima, Japan. The special exhibitions will run concurrently from July 26 to August 29, 2008.



The �Hydrogen Rotary Engine Vehicles� exhibition will promote the merits of Mazda�s hydrogen rotary engine that is being developed under the company�s long-term vision for technology development, Sustainable Zoom-Zoom. The engine is powered by hydrogen, which Mazda expects will replace oil products as the dominant fuel in the future. The exhibition is intended to provide visitors with a deeper insight into Mazda�s efforts to bring the technology to market.



The exhibition will feature the Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE that became the world�s first commercially available hydrogen rotary vehicle in February 2006. Eight RX-8 Hydrogen RE vehicles have been delivered to date and 30 more will be supplied to Norway�s national HyNor (Hydrogen Road of Norway) project from summer 2008. Alongside it will be the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid, which gained approval from Japan�s Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) to begin testing on public roads in June 2008, and is scheduled to start commercial leasing by March 2009. Other vehicles on display will be the Mazda HR-X, the first ever hydrogen rotary engine vehicle that debuted at the 1991 Tokyo Motor Show, and the Mazda HR-X2, which was built in 1993.



The �Nagare Concept Cars� exhibition will be held concurrently in the entrance hall of the Mazda Museum. It will feature the four concept cars of the Nagare series � Nagare, Ryuga, Hakaze and Taiki � that were displayed at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show.



The Nagare (Japanese for �flow�) design series has resulted from Mazda�s efforts to express a clear visual brand identity and further evolve its sporty and athletic car design using nature as its inspiration. Nagare design denotes one possible direction for the next generation of Mazda design.



Mazda announced its Sustainable Zoom-Zoom plan in March 2007. It describes the technologies Mazda is developing in response to the issues facing the automotive industry and the drive for design that will captivate customers. One of the targets of the plan is to improve the average fuel economy of Mazda vehicles sold worldwide 30 percent by 2015. Through the special summer events at the Mazda Museum, the company will present its approach to car building that aims to harmonize driving pleasure with environmental and safety performance.



The Mazda Museum is the only automotive industry museum in the Chugoku and Shikoku region of Japan and welcomes an average of 70,000 visitors per year. Permanent attractions include a technical exhibition of the rotary engine, which is mass produced by no other company in the world, and many of the famous cars that have spurred Mazda�s growth. Visitors can also enjoy an up-close look at a working assembly line in an adjoining plant. As a popular destination for elementary and junior high school social studies fieldtrips, as well as the general public, the museum makes a valuable social contribution to the community.



Details of the �Hydrogen Rotary Engine Vehicles� and �Nagare Concept Cars� exhibitions:

1. Venue Mazda Museum
2. Duration Saturday, July 26 to Friday, August 29, 2008
3. Closed Saturday, Sunday, Mazda company holidays
* Open on Jul 26 (Sat), Aug 2 (Sat), Aug 23 (Sat)
4. Admission Free (reservation required)
5. Admission point Mazda Showroom Bldg (Fuchu-cho 3-1, Aki-gun, Hiroshima Prefecture)
6. Tour times 9:30 & 13:00 (Japanese), 13:00 (English)
7. Tour size Maximum 45 people per tour
* Special tours on Aug 2 & Aug 23: max. 90 people
(in Japanese only, no English tours available on these days)
8. Reservations Tel: +81 (0)82-252-5050 (Available on weekdays from 08:30 - 17:00)
Website: http://www.mazda.com/mazdaspirit/museum/



History of Mazda�s hydrogen vehicle development

1991 Developed first hydrogen rotary engine vehicle, HR-X
1992 Conducted test drive of golf cart equipped with fuel cell
1993 Developed second hydrogen rotary engine vehicle, HR-X2
Developed MX-5 test vehicle equipped with hydrogen rotary engine
1995 Conducted Japan�s first public road tests of a hydrogen rotary engine vehicle, the Capella Cargo.
1997 Developed Demio FC-EV
2001 Developed Premacy FC-EV, conducted first public road test in Japan (Methanol reforming fuel cell system)
2003 Announced RX-8 Hydrogen RE prototype
2004 Received MLIT approval for public road testing of RX-8 Hydrogen RE
2006 Started commercial leasing of the RX-8 Hydrogen RX-8 RE in Japan
2007 Signed agreement to provide 30 RX-8 Hydrogen REs to HyNor, a Norwegian national project
2008 Received MLIT approval for public road testing of the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid


http://www.mazda.com/publicity/release/2008/200807/080722.html