Student-built Mazda Deep Orange 3 Concept

The Mazda concept you see here wasn’t developed by a team of seasoned automotive designers and engineers with a multi-million dollar budget and all the resources of a major manufacturer. Instead it was created by group of automotive engineering students at Clemson University in South Carolina, and styled by Transport Design student Frederick Naaman at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

The Mazda Deep Orange 3 project consists of a radical prototype chassis, which was previously displayed at last year’s SEMA show – without any bodywork. The chassis is made up of conventional tubular steel sections, and also an innovative sheet-folding technology patented by Industrial Origami. The interior features a useful 3+3 seating layout.

Powering the Mazda Deep Orange 3 concept is a unique hybrid drivetrain that automatically chooses front-, rear- or all-wheel drive.

Paul Venhovens, BMW Endowed Chair in Systems Integration at the Clemson University, who leads the Deep Orange program, said the students had free rein to push the boundaries of conventional design and engineering. “We know the future of the automotive industry will require ever more flexible, more cost-effective and more innovative approaches to manufacturing,” Venhovens said. “Our manufacturing approach on this project was exemplary of this kind of change.”

Derek Jenkins, design director for Mazda North America, commented on the project: “These students have provided fresh and inventive ideas from sketch pad to sheet metal, and the final product truly speaks to that open dialogue and collaboration between the Art Center College of Design and Clemson University.”