After Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, and Suzuki, time has come for another Japanese automaker to preview the goodies it will have on display later this month at the Tokyo Motor Show. Mazda will have not one, but two brand new concepts serving different purposes. Taking the shape of a sleek sedan, the concept pictured above is going to provide a glimpse into the styling direction the Zoom-Zoom company will take in the foreseeable future.
Given the four-door sedan body style and what seem to be generous proportions, we can't help but think this will serve as an early look at the next-generation Mazda6. Embodying an evolution of the company's gorgeous Kodo design language, the concept has a low roof and slim pillars together with a pronounced character line that stretches from the front to the rear.
Tiny cameras come to replace the bulky conventional mirrors and there aren't any visible door handles. Also noticeable is the short front overhang and a set of generous alloys that barely fit into those wheel arches. The heavily sloped roofline could represent Mazda's way of telling us it has plans to join the increasingly more popular genre of sedans with coupe-like silhouettes, though it's too early to know for sure.
As for the other concept, it embodies a next-generation production car and has a five-door hatchback shape in a compact size. Putting two and two together, this is likely a preview for the next Mazda3 and we can already have a good look at what's underneath its Kodo skin. The showcar will feature the company's new Skyactiv-X engine, which is set to become the first commercially available gasoline engine to benefit from compression ignition.
Mazda estimates its new unit is 20-30 percent more economical than the company's current crop of gasoline engines and at the same time deliveries 10-30% more torque. The new Mazda3 will be the first to get it in 2019 and an electrified version part of a plug-in hybrid powertrain is slated to arrive by 2021.
Also in Tokyo, the recently introduced CX-8 will be on display as a Japan-only three-row SUV with an upgraded turbodiesel 2.2-liter engine. An MX-5 Red Top special edition will be there as well to show off its dark cherry red canopy and auburn nappa leather upholstery.
The 45th Tokyo Motor Show is scheduled to begin on October 25th with the first press day. Sadly, there's nothing to report at the moment of writing about the rotary engine and its possible return in an updated RX Vision concept.
