With the departure of Laurens van den Acker to Renault, Mazda’s loved or loathed Nagare design language has been dispatched, and in its place is a new designer (Ikuo Maeda) a new theme, a new concept and a new name: Kodo.

Set to debut at the Paris Motor Show later this month, the Shinari concept is our first glimpse at the future of Mazda styling. The four-door design exercise evolves the Nagare theme into a more cohesive and – dare we say – production-ready form, toning down the massive grin currently found on the Mazda3 and other models, while incorporating new aluminum accents that are expected to proliferate through Mazda’s future products.

Until the Paris show, these leaked image are all we have to go on, but judging by the hit-or-miss nature of Nagare, we like what we’re seeing thus far. And if you’re wondering, "Kodo" translates roughly to "soul of motion."

Source: Autoblog.com