The cutting-edge ideas of some of Japan’s most imaginative designers will dazzle the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney next month.

Wildly different concept cars by Mazda and Honda will be the centre of attention when they are unveiled at Darling Harbour on 7th October.

The Ibuki Future Concept Roadster hints at Mazda’s eagerly-awaited replacement for the best-selling convertible sportscar of all time, the MX-5.

Named from the Japanese word meaning “adding vigour”, the Ibuki features the front-midship engine layout pioneered in Mazda’s RX-8.

The company says the arrangement substantially reduces the weight of the front and rear overhangs. This cuts turning inertia by 15 per cent and results in improved handling and roadholding.

The layout was only made possible by moving the car’s air conditioning unit behind the seats, which created space for part of the engine inside the dashboard.

Mazda says the engine arrangement also improves the protection of pedestrians in accidents by creating a larger crumple zone.

The Ibuki’s unique twin backbone body structure is clothed in plastic panels for the mudguards, bonnet, rear floor and outer doors.

The radically curved windscreen conceals the front pillars.

The Ibuki’s 1.6 litre four-cylinder engine features an integrated electric hybrid motor that improves standing-start acceleration and turns the engine off when stationary to save fuel and tailpipe emissions.

Honda’s motor show star is the Kiwami - a low, wedgy luxury car powered by Honda’s latest hydrogen fuel cell technology. Last year, Honda announced a breakthrough in fuel cell technology - a remarkably compact fuel cell stack that delivers high performance, yet reduces the number of parts by almost 50 percent. It is the world’s first fuel cell stack to feature a stamped metal separator structure and newly developed electrolyte membranes, more than doubling the cell’s output density. The Kiwami’s unique packaging sees the fuel cell stack incorporated into the interior space as a feature.

The H-shaped layout for the fuel cell system and other components creates a low centreof gravity and lowers overall vehicle height to improve handling.

Despite the low roofline the Kiwami has a spacious interior thanks to a much lower than usual cabin floor.

Kiwami and Ibuki are amongst dozens of all new, updated and revised cars which will be unveiled at the Australian Intrernational Motor Show.