Mazda caught patenting advanced inline six-cylinder
Copyright drawings also unearth Mazda is developing its own eight-speed auto – both could be heading to the next CX-9Mazda will expand its state-of-the-art SKYACTIV-X engine family to include an all-new inline six-cylinder petrol and diesel.
To prove it, Japanese car blog
, has caught the Mazda patenting both the new engine and plans for a new eight-speed automotive transmission.Reported to be close schematics of a real production engine, both the petrol and diesel six-cylinder are rumoured to be introduced in the next couple of years.
The petrol SKYACTIV-X tech employs, what Mazda calls is Spark Controlled Compression Ignition.
It involves a spark plug to ignite a small, dense amount of fuel-air mix in the cylinder and then uses a low-capacity supercharger and high compression ratio to combust the remaining fuel-air mix in a diesel-style combustion.
Keeping emissions and fuel use low, like the four-pot engines the new straight six-cylinder engine will use mild-hybrid tech, combine a belt-driven starter generator and a small lithium-ion battery that's charged using recovered energy via a 24-volt electrical system.
Set to debut in both the Mazda6 and largest CX-9 a next-gen plug-in hybrid powertrain is also likely to be introduced on both the sedan and SUV – although the PHEV is expected to be centred around the four-cylinder SKYACTIV-X petrol.
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