The Mazda Pair, known in Japan as the Mazda Pea, was a concept vehicle shown in 1987, most likely at the Tokyo Motor Show, where Japanese manufacturers other than Honda regularly displayed concept commercial vehicles alongside their passenger-car concepts. The Pair could still loosely be classed among passenger vehicles, taking the form of a semi-forward-control estate, or kombi, though it was built strictly as a two-seater with two doors. Its cube-shaped body was distinctive, but its main feature was its design for towing a variety of purpose-built trailers.
To allow trailers to be attached closely behind the vehicle without a visible tow bar, the rear of the Pair incorporated a pivoting arm that kept the trailer tracking in the path of the rear wheels through corners. The trailers themselves were built for different roles, including examples configured as a clothing delivery unit, a mobile music studio, and a party-service vehicle; each matched the styling of the tow vehicle but stood taller, except for the party-service trailer, which was lower. The new-type hitch mechanism was operated by an electronically controlled electric motor, and electronic systems also featured heavily in the cockpit, with particular attention given to communication and networking functions for business use. The drivetrain used a transversely mounted mid-engine layout with rear-wheel drive, though engine displacement was not specified. All wheels, including those on the trailers, used 145/70 R12 tyres.
The Pair measured 2700 mm long, 1450 mm wide and 1600 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 1800 mm and a track of 1220 mm. Its target weight was given as 550 kg.
