A new report suggests that Mazda is planning a four-seat coupe variant of its next-generation Mazda6 midsize car.
With the demise of the company’s rotary-powered RX-8 earlier this year, Mazda is without a sporty coupe in its lineup for the first time in decades. But an unnamed Mazda executive apparently told Britain’s What Car? magazine that a two-door version of the upcoming 6 replacement will appear shortly after the four-door.
Mazda is expected to replace its slow-selling Mazda6 with a new car based on the Takeri concept car the automaker showed last month at the Tokyo Motor Show. With far more shapely lines than the current Mazda6, which is sold in slightly different versions globally and in the United States, the Takeri appears to lend itself better to a two-door profile than the existing car.
The magazine says that the Mazda6 Coupe will feature the company’s SkyActiv technology, which includes high-compression engines and ultra-light components as a way to effectively and simply cut fuel consumption and increase performance.
Although demand for midsize coupes has never been especially strong in most markets, their development costs are low because they tend to share so much with their sedan counterparts. Mazda isn’t likely to market the 6 coupe as a replacement for the rear-drive RX-8; instead, look for the new two-door to be seen as more of a style icon for the zoom-zoom brand.
References
1.’http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/new-mazda-6-coupe-planned/260356…’ view
