Although we were able to catch a semi-glimpse of the new Mazda6 when the Mazda Takeri Concept debuted in late 2011, we all know that concepts are the jazzed up versions of production models. Luckily, our spy photographers were able to catch a mule for the new generation Mazda6 testing in winter conditions. This mule sits on the next model’s platform, but still maintains the chopped up body of the current generation Mazda 6.
Mazda has made it clear that the next generation Mazda6 will have nothing in common with the current model, with the new model being wider and longer and its exterior design modeled after the aforementioned Takeri Concept. The new Mazda 6 will be built using the company’s new SkyActiv technologies, including a Skyactiv-D Clean diesel engine, a new six-speed automatic transmission, and an engine start-stop system. The next Mazda6 will also be the first Mazda equipped with regenerative braking. This system converts kinetic energy into electricity during braking and stores it in capacitors for use later in powering electrical equipment such as the air conditioning, lighting, and audio system.
The new generation Mazda6 will also feature a coupe version set to be released sometime in 2014, but expect to see the Mazda6 sedan at the 2012 Paris Auto Show.
Mazda provided the first glimpse of the next generation Mazda6 with the Shinari Concept unveiled back in 2010. They then followed it up with the Takeri Conceptwas created to showcase Mazda’s new design language. These two concepts together provide a general idea as to what we can expect when the third generation Mazda6 goes on sale in the spring of 2013.
An interesting fact about the upcoming Mazda6 is that the company will not only be offering it in the usual hatchback and sedan versions, but in a four-seat coupe variant as well. This was done in order to follow in BMW’s steps with the 3-Series sedan, station wagon, coupe, and convertible models.
The new Mazda 6 will be built using the company’s new SkyActiv technologies and will be powered by a frugal 2.0-liter petrol engine and 2.2-liter diesel engines. The company’s new regenerative braking system will also be offered.
The coupe version will be revealed about a year after the sedan version, so expect to see it sometime in 2014.
With the debut of the new Takeri Concept, Mazda has revealed the design language for their future Mazda6 sedan, but that isn’t the only new model the Japanese company has in their future plans. In a recent interview with Automotive News, Robert Davis - Mazda’s Senior Vice President of U.S. operations has announced that the company plans to unveil four redesigned models by 2014.
The first to arrive will be a major update for the CX-5 in the spring of 2012. It will be followed by a redesigned Mazda6 and redesigns of the Mazda3, MX-5 Miata, and CX-9 in 2013.
The big news is that these redesigned models will not only receive exterior and interior updates, but new lightweight platforms and new gasoline and diesel powertrains that boost power and fuel economy. By 2016, Mazda also plans to add stop-start, regenerative braking, and hybrid technologies.
The new platform developed for the four new models will be the first one developed solely by Mazda. The company has been using platforms shared with Ford Motor Co. for most of its vehicles, but since Ford sold its stake in Mazda in 2006, the Japanese company has announced it has no plans to share its new platforms and powertrain technologies for U.S. vehicles with Ford.
When Mazda unveiled their new ’Kodo’ design language, it marked a changing of the guard as far as the company’s new design philosophy was concerned.
The first two examples of this new chapter in Mazda design came in the form of the Shinari and Minagi concepts. And now, a third model is expected to join the fold with its debut scheduled for the Tokyo Auto Show in November 2011.
The third Kodo-influenced concept is called the Takeri and it’s being touted as the eventual successor and next-generation model of the Mazda6. The Takeri Concept successfully follows in the steps of both the Shinari and Minagi concepts in that it carries the same "expression of motion that focuses on the strength, beauty and tension found in the instantaneous movement seen in animals" - or as how Mazda describes its new Kodo-Soul of Motion design language.
Full details surrounding the Takeri Concept have yet to be revealed, although it appears that it will carry Mazda’s new SKYACTIV technology that is geared towards producing a range of hybrid versions for the next-generation Mazda6. Other rumored elements of the Takeri Concept include a high tensile, lightweight steel chassis, regenerative brakes, and start-stop engine technology
More details of the Takeri Concept are expected to be revealed at the Tokyo Auto Show in a little over a month’s time. For now, enjoy the photos of the concept that Mazda has just released.
We all know that Mazda’s meal ticket in the auto industry is the new MX-5 Roadster, but what a lot of people don’t know is that the Mazda3, not the MX-5, is the brand’s fastest-selling vehicle of all time.
Coming in second is the Mazda6, which is quite a seller itself. Maybe not to the level of the Mazda3, but in-demand enough that the brand recently celebrated the 2 millionth Mazda6 ever built by the company. What’s more impressive? The company took only eight-and-something years to achieve the milestone number.
The car was launched back in 2002 at the company’s Hofu Plant No. 2 in Japan, and after a little under nine years, car number 2 million left the production block late last month.
Accoding to Seita Kanai, the company’s senior managing executive officer and head of R&D and Program Management, the Mazda6 was instrumental in bringing global recognition to a Japanese brand that, for the longest time, found it difficult to move out of the shadow cast by its more prominent Japanese peers, Toyota and Honda. "The Mazda6 is one of the core models which helped establish Mazda’s brand image globally,” he said.
“I was the first generation model’s development program manager, and I still have a special fondness for this terrific car. I’m grateful to the two million-plus customers around the world who have purchased a Mazda6. I would like to say thank you to each and every customer."
Congratulations to Mazda for achieving quite a milestone. Here’s to hoping that car number three million will come a lot sooner.
