Mid-engined Mazda RX-9 sports car imagined

Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus… Mazda?

Imagine if Japanese car brand Mazda – a company whose rich sports car history and motorsport pedigree – pumped out a mid-engine sports car.

Imagine no more, because this is what it could look like, allowing Mazda to join the exulted ranks of car-makers that build mid-engine sports cars.

This latest CGI render is more McLaren than MX-5, but there's clear Mazda DNA in areas of the exterior, such as the Mazda3-inspired headlights and trademark grille and… well pretty much just the headlights and grille.

But as a design study it's a tantalising teaser of what could happen if Mazda shoved its new 300kW inline six-cylinder turbo-petrol engine into the back of a compact sports car – or better yet a hybrid petrol-electric rotary powertrain.

Bear in mind that Mazda is now in the EV game with the MX-30, so while we're speculating, how about an mid-engine electric supercar to fight the upcoming EV from BMW M or perhaps the wild new Tesla Roadster 2.0?

The striking concept, dubbed Mazda 9 Supercar, was designed by Joseph Robinson who posted the sleek machine on the Behance design website.

Mazda already builds one of the most successful sports cars ever made, the MX-5, and the Japanes brand's history of RX-7 rotary-powered sports cars – and company executives – continue to fuel the fire of a next-generation Mazda RX-9 sports car.

Mazda has several powertrain options at its disposal – including a 2.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine (170kW/420Nm) from the turbo Mazda CX-5 that fit in a smaller vehicle and give the Alpine A110 a blood nose – and the idea of a new sports car (of any kind!) from small Japanese car-maker is an exciting prospect.

We reached out to Mazda to find out what was on the cards in terms of sports cars – RX-7, RX-9, even mid-engined flights of fancy – and a spokesperson for the brand said Mazda is currently concentrating on launching its new SKYACTIV-X low-emission engine tech.

"The focus right now is on emissions reductions, getting out SKYACTIV-X, hopefully later in the year. Then we’re working on the getting the MX-30 electric vehicle here," said the spokesperson.

The biggest hurdle for Mazda will be the expense required to develop a new sports car. And while sports cars will be remembered long after cookie-cutter SUVs, they're not money-spinners.

Even Toyota, with its massive R&D budgets and global reach, couldn’t develop the new Supra on its own, instead having to partner with BMW to co-develop the vehicle.

Almost everyone within the Mazda Motor Corporation wants a new sports car, from the top-brass in Yokohama to the mechanics servicing the cars at West End Mazda in Parramatta.

Whether it happens or not is the burning question. But what better time to launch such a flagship than in Mazda's centenary year...