The Mazda Gissya was a concept car shown as a mockup model in June 1990, developed shortly after Mazda's European research and development center in Oberursel, Germany, was opened. It was created to reflect the anticipated tastes and needs of European customers of the late 1990s. Described as a multi-purpose sedan, it could be classified as a large one-box minivan, with a roofline sloping down toward an inward-slanted rear wall, giving it an unusual silhouette. The car featured strongly curved door and rear side windows with retractable sections cut into them, along with front and side spoilers that doubled as air intakes.
Compared to the production Mazda MPV, the Gissya was longer and wider but lower, and its outer dimensions also exceeded those of the Mazda 626 Wagon. It measured 4790 mm in length, 1890 mm in width, and 1640 mm in height, on a 3000 mm wheelbase, and offered seating for four with two additional occasional seats across three doors.
Power came from a three-rotor Wankel engine with a displacement equivalent of 3924 cc, related to the unit shown in new form on the Mazda Cosmo at the previous year's Tokyo Motor Show, where it produced around 300 hp with sequential twin turbocharging. In the Gissya, fitted with an intermittently operating exhaust turbocharger, output was rated at 280 hp. The transversely mounted front engine drove through a preselective, electronically controlled transmission linked to a four-wheel-drive system using two viscous couplings, with a composite-material driveshaft. The car also featured four-wheel steering, active suspension with automatic ride-height control, four-wheel disc brakes, ABS, and Continental safety wheels and tires sized 235/40 ZR 475.
