For years, manufacturers have been fighting to get an edge on the competition, and stand out in each segment. Brands such as Hyundai and Mazda have made an attempt to move upmarket to get noticed.
We first saw this in the 2020 Mazda3 with its incredible design late last year, but it seems like the Japanese brand big players from Europe in its sights with the next-generation Mazda6.
Car and Driver recently reported that Mazda is turning to the likes of BMW and Mercedes for inspiration with the updated sedan, and are going to drop an inline-six engine in the front, and move the drive to the rear.
Not only will this be a whole new platform for Mazda, but there are also plans to implement the game-changing Skyactiv-X engine coupled with a 48-volt hybrid system in this updated 6.
For those who aren't familiar, the Skyactiv-X engine is a compression-ignition petrol engine that supposedly offers a petrol-powered driving experience while having the efficiency of a diesel.
According to the US report, figures of 260kW have been already been thrown around. And while this seems rather unrealistic for a small brand like Mazda, its relationship with Toyota has been growing stronger, and they seem to know a thing or two about building inline-sixes.
As for aesthetics, Mazda has already revealed the Vision Coupe Concept which had a whole heap going on at the front, and not much at the rear. Two very identifiable traits of a rear-wheel drive luxury sedan.
And that engine bay had way too much space for the supposed rotary engine that was heading its way.
While Car and Driver reported that this car would be coming to showrooms at the end of 2022, this whole Covid-19 thing has really hit the automotive industry hard along with the rest of the world, so we can imagine that it has been pushed back.