The new Mazda 6 could come with a six-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive: a direct shot at the Germans' jugular

We already know that Mazda chose its own path to tackle the pollution plaguing our planet, through proposals as interesting as the Skyactive engines. This has allowed the Japanese brand to enjoy a low level of global emissions without resorting to small-displacement turbocharged engines. Everything points to this same approach being applied to the next Mazda 6, a model that promises more performance to put its main German rivals between a rock and a hard place.

To achieve this, Mazda’s engineers could turn their flagship into a genuine sports saloon featuring distinguished traits such as six-cylinder engines and rear-wheel drive. This combination is scarce today, where most saloons of this character from Japan rely on four-cylinder engines and front-wheel drive. But Mazda wants to change the rules of the game.

It was at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show that the Japanese brand presented us with the Mazda Kai Concept and Mazda Vision Coupe, in the hands of their creator, Kevin Rice. The prototype dubbed Kai arrived as a futuristic vision of the compact sports car of tomorrow and, as its creator told us at the time, it served as inspiration for the current Mazda 3. The same could happen with the Vision Coupe, a concept car that has yet to inspire any production model.

If we look closely at the Vision Coupe’s appearance, we can see that it alludes to the design language displayed by the brand’s latest models. Its slender lines stretch out, giving it the silhouette of a saloon, which makes it even more likely to become the new Mazda 6 tomorrow, with a series of revisions that allow it to pass homologation tests.

Nevertheless, everything points to the quintessential saloon from Mazda featuring an exhilarating naturally aspirated six-cylinder powerplant, a type of engine that, unfortunately, is in decline. To add even more spice and make purists drool, the engineers at the Japanese firm are planning to make the Mazda 6 rear-wheel drive, a feature that will make its driving experience far more dynamic and sporty.

Whatever the case, everything suggests that Mazda is developing a true warrior ready to stand up to the times the automotive sector is going through. With this premise, sooner rather than later the Mazda 6 will become an even more direct rival to the BMW 3 Series, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and the Alfa Romeo Giulia, three segment models that could falter before Japanese hegemony.