New Mazda6 to debut rear-drive platform, straight sixes

The next-generation Mazda6 will not only debut the Japanese car-maker’s all-new rear-wheel drive platform but its new range of electrified inline six-cylinder engines when it is revealed early next year.

That’s according to Japanese website Best Car, which also produced this cool render of the 2022 Mazda6 (below), and that would make Mazda’s new flagship sedan and wagon a direct rival for Germany’s only remaining rear-drive straight-six mid-size luxury car, the BMW 3 Series.

Mazda’s ground-breaking new rear-drive/inline-six platform has been well documented and was previously expected to first appear underneath the next-gen Mazda CX-5 in 2022.

However, Best Car says the rear- and all-wheel drive platform will in fact debut under the next Mazda6, which is due to be launched next spring in Japan, so between March and May 2022.

The Japanese website has also outlined Mazda’s new range of electrified powertrains, which will also grace the next-gen CX-5 from 2023, as part of the car-maker’s plan to electrify its entire model range by 2030, by which time a quarter of its sales are forecast to be EVs.

Separately, Mazda promised three fully-electric vehicles (EVs), five plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and five hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) by 2025 – and all 13 of them are on the table for Australia.

Also in 2025, Mazda will introduce its first dedicated EV platform dubbed ‘SKYACTIV EV Scalable Architecture’, which can be changed in length, width and battery capacity to form a variety of future EVs.

But even the Mazda’s upcoming premium RWD/AWD platform – and therefore the next Mazda6, CX-5, CX-8 and CX-9 – will benefit from a range of electrified powertrains based around a new 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine family.

These include an inline petrol six with 48-volt mild-hybrid (HEV) tech delivering about 210kW/340Nm, a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powerplant based around the same SKYACTIV-G engine, a SKYACTIV-X version with SPCCI compression-ignition technology and a turbocharged range-topper offering at least 260kW.

The petrol powertrains will be supported by an upsized new 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder turbo-diesel (SKYACTIV-D) with the same 48-volt HEV mild-hybrid tech, offering 210kW/600Nm and also matched to a new six-speed automatic transmission.

Interestingly, Best Car says a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder SKYACTIV-G petrol engine with 48V HEV tech is also being developed for small-cars like the Mazda3, as well as an all-new 1.5-litre SKYACTIV-X three-cylinder petrol engine for the next Mazda2.

In an identical engine strategy to BMW’s, the latter will effectively be Mazda’s new inline petrol six cut in half, but Mazda’s trump card could well be the eventual range-wide application of the MX-30’s upcoming rotary range extender EV powertrain.