Mazda trotted out the Furai concept at the Detroit Auto Show back in 2007. It wowed crowds, and promised that the future Nagare design language had Mazda machines moving in a delightfully stylish direction. The Furai wasn't just a pretty concept, however, as it boasted at 450-horsepower three-rotor setup and helped back up the claim that Mazda had produced an actual supercar. Now that car is a toasted shell, which has been burnt to the ground--while in the hands of Top Gear.

We're not exactly sure how this story managed to stay under wraps for so long, but back in 2008 the car was with the popular television show's crew and it wound up on fire. There's been no official commentary on how this happened just yet, as this story is making its way into 20th anniversary special for the show's magazine. It's a shame that this happened, but we're dying to find out more about how it happened.

Still, in a world where bits of news can travel the globe in seconds, we're a bit shocked that no one knew about this incident for so long. Mazda and Top Gear did a pretty good job about keeping this one hush-hush. If it happened today, it would've wound up on Twitter, Instragram, and Facebook in a matter of minutes.

Our guess as to how this happened? Jeremy Clarkson demanding more power out on the Top Gear runway, while getting the Furai sideways. From there, it was just a matter of a hot three-rotor being pushed hard, probably a bit of an oil leak, and then combustion.

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