In an industry where gaudy supercars are released to convention halls full of jaded, cynical journalists, it's rare that a single car can captivate an audience the way that the Mazda Furai did. When it made its debut at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, it became a critical darling for its striking design, aggressive stance and intricate attention to detail.

The love fest was further magnified by the fact that the Furai wasn't just a concept car—it was a purebred runner. So it's no surprise that when Top Gear Magazine released a photo of the Mazda Furai concept reduced to a smoldering pile of ashes, the Internet mourned.

I was lucky enough to have been at Mazda during the Furai's time. After winning the Mazda Design Challenge in 2007, I joined the team as an intern through the spring of 2008. My project during my time there was to write and design a 100-page coffee-table book chronicling the Furai's creation as a gift to the tireless crew that worked days and nights bringing the car to life.

So when news of its untimely demise broke last week, I wanted to get the perspective of one of its designers.

Carlos Salaff was a senior designer at Mazda and part of the team responsible for exterior design development on the Furai. I caught up with him to talk about the Furai and his reactions to the Top Gear photo. (The sketches you'll see below are by Carlos.)

One of the first things I asked was how he felt the first time he had seen the photos of the burned concept car.

He stumbled for a second, then said, "Well, I heard about the photos from you."

A knot grew in my stomach as I realized that he had never seen the photo until earlier that day. I felt like a friend having to break the news about a terrible death in the family.

"It was sad for me," he started, at first slow to put thoughts together. "I poured my heart and soul into that car. When you pour your heart and soul into something, it becomes your baby. And then I saw it destroyed like that and it really hurt. It hurt."

The Furai had seemingly disappeared over the last five years (and now we know why), but continued to captivate gearheads, designers and the public alike. It frequently makes appearances on Top Concept Car lists and has spawned Hot Wheels versions in gray, red and white. A quick search on YouTube delivers countless videos of gamers taking the car to the track in both Forza 4 and Gran Turismo 5.

Built on top of the Courage C65 Le Mans prototype chassis and powered by a 450-hp 3-rotor wankel engine, Furai was a wailing, fire-breathing beast that roared its way around Laguna Seca during a press day whose photos redefined the term "car porn."

Top Gear's photo created a very different emotion. When asked about it, Salaff replied, "I knew that it happened. We all did. But it was all just very matter-of-fact. It happened, and it was really unfortunate, but everyone just thought 'let's move on to what's next.'"

After all, concept cars get destroyed. The sad truth is that they're usually meant to be temporary. That's their nature. But the Furai connected with people. As news of the Furai's demise spread, the Internet reaction was surprisingly earnest, with many commenters around the web feeling like they'd lost an icon.

"I'm amazed...there's still quite a passion for it," said Salaff, admitting he's usually hesitant to read comments online.

Since the Furai, a lot has changed for Mazda. US Director Franz von Holzhausen left in July of 2008 to take the reins as Tesla Motors' chief designer. Ikuo Maeda took the lead as Mazda's global head of design and retired the Nagare design language featured in the Furai. It was replaced with the current Kodo design language, first showcased on 2010's Shinari concept.

But Salaff knows that the Furai was about much more than just the design language.

"The timeless aspect and energy of the Furai—I think that will cause the industry to take a look at it again and decide what's next," he says. "It's got this hunkered-down, shrink-wrapped, cut proportion that will always be beautiful. It's great for Mazda that it's back in the conversation. It's great for the industry."

Salaff explained, "The industry is a bit stagnant, and we could use more cars like the Furai. We created something beautiful and provocative, but purposeful. It rode that fine line between beauty and in-your-face-ness. The design language doesn't matter when you can get that right."

Much of that purposefulness, he thinks, comes from the process by which they developed the car.

"How many times do you get to design something so radical and have such free reign over how you do it?" he asked. "Basically we got a racing chassis and could create any body we wanted. The guideline was 'It better be pretty damn cool.' and we just went hog wild with it."

That freedom is rare in an industry so focused on staying competitive, spending much of its time on facelifts and refreshes instead of really stepping out of the box to try something new.

While the news of last week was heartbreaking, Salaff views this experience as life-changing for him personally, and a strong indicator of where he sees the industry headed.

"I knew back then that it happened, but having been so involved in the exterior of the car, then seeing it so graphically—the charred remains, looking at ashes and thinking, 'I sculpted that line'—it was a very sad experience."

"But, working on the Furai, that process ignited a fire in me," he laughs, "No pun intended. Then seeing that Franz [von Holzhausen] went to Tesla and how far they've come. It's a really exciting time right now."

Since leaving Mazda, Salaff formed his own company and is working to create hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind cars that combine a sense of art and purpose in the same way that the Furai did.

"It was a very important car for me. Despite what happened, it pushed me to do what I'm doing now."

He hopes that the conversations surrounding the Furai will open up opportunities to create more thoughtful vehicles.

"I'm surprised by the lack of excitement and innovation in design," he says, "the fact that the Furai is being talked about is a good thing."

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Most notable for her fiery locks, happy-go-lucky attitude and inability to sit in the sun for very long, Mallory McMorrow is a designer/creative director with a passion for petrol. She loves dogs and cartoons. She hates olives.