At A Mazda Fan Event? Skip The Shirts Together With Expect For These Limited-Edition Paintings Instead

At Mazda fan events inwards Japan, it’s ever a nifty visit to snag a souvenir: a cap, a sticker, perchance fifty-fifty a shirt or two. Next fourth dimension though, skip the green together with maintain an oculus out for these limited-edition watercolor paintings done yesteryear no less than the designer of the original Mazda RX-7, Mikio Nakajima.

Limited to precisely 100 sets together with sold solely during the 30th Anniversary Meet at the Miyoshi Proving Ground, this gear upwardly of 10 postcard-sized watercolors commemorates Mazda’s iconic roadster painted to await similar they’re touring roughly the Japanese countryside. It’s the latest from Nakajima’s “Mazda Car Postcard” serial which featured cars such every bit the Mazda Cosmo, the 787B, together with more.

Born inwards Tokyo inwards 1950, Nakajima-san is the boy of a metal-carving master. Greatly influenced yesteryear his father’s work, which was of a high plenty criterion to convey been commissioned yesteryear the emperor of Japan, Nakajima pursued pattern every bit a profession.

He joined Mazda inwards 1971, sketching together with designing the grille together with door handles for the Series II Cosmo. Nakajima continued to pattern production models until the global petroleum crisis of 1973, which hitting Mazda hard.

Despite the dull downwardly inwards automobile development, Nakajima together with his colleagues made the most of the ensuing downtime to practise some serious research, amongst the approbation of Mazda’s pattern boss at the time, Matasaburo Maeda.

At the time, the Japanese carmaker was planning to boot off a sports automobile project, together with the pattern segmentation was exploring diverse ideas for that car, then they held an internal pattern competition. Impressed yesteryear his findings, Nakajima together with his squad won, their proposal eventually becoming the first-ever Mazda RX-7.

Nakajima’s success at Mazda is to a greater extent than than precisely virtually winning pattern competitions though; it’s also a even virtually perseverance. Unknown to most, he had a handicap which could convey jeopardized his career every bit a designer: partial colorblindness. Yet, he overcame this disability to create 1 of the most stunning Japanese sportscars of all time.

Moreover, his disability didn’t destination him from finding a novel love: H2O color icon inwards the mid-1990s. Starting out amongst landscapes together with buildings, he presently moved to subjects he knows best: Mazda vehicles.

When Nakajima retired inwards 2010, he started a novel life working every bit a freelance designer together with watercolor artist, fifty-fifty regularly exhibiting his work. Today, non solely is he responsible for the official posters for Mazda Fan Events inwards Japan, but he teaches icon every bit well.

During an exhibit of his work, Nakajima said, “Cars are non simply tools for getting around, inwards then many ways they are vessels for our precious memories. There are the cars nosotros used inwards our daily lives amongst our family, the automobile nosotros showtime bought, the automobile nosotros used for work, the automobile nosotros ever wanted, together with then on. I promise that that function helps people to think all the emotions of those times together with assist to enrich their lives today together with inwards the future.”