Anyone who has ever been to an airport will recognize it: the endless stretches that have to be covered on foot. From the departure hall to customs, from customs to the gate; there is no end to it. How nice would it be if you could drive those meters? In this edition of De Vluchtstrook: the Mazda ‘Suitcase Car’, a suitcase that simultaneously serves as a means of transport.
Engineers within car brands are often bound by concrete assignments from above, with tight budgets and associated time schedules. What do you get when you completely release these academically trained minds? Mazda had an internal competition called ‘Fantasyard’ between 1989 and 1991. In any case, the name covers it well, because in this testing ground the engineers were allowed to let their imaginations run wild. The ultimate goal was to come up with the best, most creative mobility solutions. In 1991 the engineers of the gearbox division won this competition with the ‘Suitcase Car’. Because why would you have to walk endless stretches at airports when you can just unfold your suitcase and then drive away smiling?
Actually built
The suitcase car did not stop with a concept on paper. Mazda actually made a small budget available to build the thing in real life. A Samsonite case measuring 75 cm long and 57 cm wide served as the ‘body’. The biggest challenge, of course, was to get all components to fit in the closed case. Ultimately, the engineers found the solution in the form of a minibike. It was divided into two parts: in the front part of the trunk is the steering wheel with the handles, while the driver sits in the rear part of the trunk next to the engine and the fuel tank. To provide the necessary reinforcement, two steel beams were installed in each compartment of the case. The two wheels of a minibike obviously offered no solace when it comes to stability, so the ‘Suitcase Car’ got two wheels on the outside of the suitcase at the rear. This essentially made it a trike. Also nice: the suitcase has lighting at the front and rear, so that you can also drive it in the dark.
The ‘Suitcase Car’ in unfolded form.
Converting the suitcase into a small car is fairly easy (Photo 6). You open the suitcase and remove a cover at the front, after which you can put the handlebars upright. Then all you have to do is click the rear wheels into place and you’re ready to go. According to Mazda, the entire process takes less than a minute. Although the ‘Suitcase Car’ is rear-wheel drive, you should not think that you can immediately take every corner sideways with it. The two-stroke engine delivers a power of 1.7 hp, with which a top speed of 30 km / h is possible. However, the latter depends on the size of the driver. The suitcase itself already weighs 32 kilos, so with one person you will soon be over 100 kilos. With a horsepower-to-weight ratio of 58 kilos per horsepower, the engine has the best job.
‘Accidentally destroyed’
Although a driving suitcase sounds like an attractive concept, it did have some snags. The aforementioned weight of 32 kilos is of course quite substantial for a suitcase. In addition, you will have to store your luggage elsewhere, because there is no more room in the suitcase itself. Maybe you can fiddle with a pair of underpants or socks somewhere, but then you’ve had it. Partly for these reasons, the ‘Suitcase Car’ never went into production, in addition to the fact that it probably would not have been really profitable for Mazda itself. Nevertheless, its popularity was high. So big that Mazda decided to build two extra mobile suitcases: one for Europe and one for America. The European ‘Suitcase Car’ made its appearance at the IAA in Frankfurt in 1991, but then disappeared, according to Mazda, under ‘unknown circumstances.’
Even on less smooth terrain, the ‘Suitcase Car’ stood its ground.
Today, only the American variant is left, according to information from Mazda. The original Japanese prototype was ‘accidentally destroyed’, but what is understood by this is not entirely clear. After the Mazda project, no other major party, let alone a car brand, has started working on the concept. In 2019, however, the rolling suitcase made its appearance in an episode of the Amazon series ‘The Grand Tour’. The three gentlemen, Clarkson, Hammond and May, then set to work on the idea to make airport transport a little more pleasant. An original idea? Not really: Mazda was ahead of them 28 years earlier.