Mazda MX-81

The MX-81 is based on the Mazda 323, a small family car, and was first presented at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1981. The design of the MX-81 took many design cues, including its color scheme, from Bertone's prior Volvo Tundra concept, introduced two years earlier.^[2] According to the factory, this was the first Mazda to use the prefix "MX", which stands for "Mazda Experimental".^[3] The Astina/323F, which came out in 1989, used many concepts of the MX-81.^[3][4]

The MX-81 is equipped with a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine with an output of 130 horsepower. The exterior of the car features a hatchback design with pop-up headlights, an all glass hatch, and large fixed glass windows, with only a small section of glass on the doors being able to roll down.

The interior of the concept is most notable for its distinctive steering wheel, which is a rounded rectangle in shape, and has buttons and a CRT television screen, which replaces traditional gauges, built into the center of the assembly.^[5][6] Unlike a traditional steering wheel, the steering assembly does not rotate. Instead, it features a belt mechanism, with a ring of black rubber nubs and a fabric covering the belt, which slide around a track on the gauge pod.^[7] The rest of the interior features a mix of leather and patterned faux suede upholstery, with rotating front seats.

After many years in a warehouse at the factory headquarters in Hiroshima, around the year 2020, the MX-81 was sent to a workshop near Bertone's premises in Turin, Italy to be restored.^[3]

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  Mazda MX-81 at the Mazda Museum in Augsburg
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  Mazda MX-81 rear
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  Mazda MX-81 interior