The most powerful Mazda engine ever … and it’s in an SUV

In reply to bobzilla :

Similarly, the Civic Type R's 306hp made it the most powerful engine ever put in a US market Honda.

Remember when you could go to a Mazda dealer and pick from a Speed6, Speed3, MX-5, RX-8, or B Series truck instead of the jelly bean hellscape they offer today? 

I love that they are independent and do their own thing; but, nothing about their lineup today is going to pull me into their showroom or even visit their website. Keith is 100% right in that they need that Halo car to draw people in. 

maschinenbau said:

In reply to bobzilla :

Similarly, the Civic Type R's 306hp made it the most powerful engine ever put in a US market Honda.

MDX Type S and TLX Type S pushes out 355hp. It's Acura but still a Honda product. NSX Type S, 600hp. 

STM317 said:

alfadriver said:

Did you guys get any details of the I6?  Theoretically, a single turbo version is a big help for emissions.  

340hp/369 ft-lbs, and very likely to include a 48V mild hybrid system.

They also have a 3.3L inline 6 powered by diesel in Europe, which I'd guess shares some components with this new gasser.

That update did show that- good call.  

And a reminder that a 48V mild hybrid makes it an EV.  And satisfies many (if not most) EV requirements around the world.  

bobzilla said:

Is no one else going to mention the fact that mazda's most powerful engine ever has 340hp? I truly feel embarassed for them. 

Their "big power" era also coincides with the 276 hp gentleman's agreement for Japanese automakers, so they never really stretched the potential of the rotaries.

Keith Tanner said:

bobzilla said:

Is no one else going to mention the fact that mazda's most powerful engine ever has 340hp? I truly feel embarassed for them. 

Their "big power" era also coincides with the 276 hp gentleman's agreement for Japanese automakers, so they never really stretched the potential of the rotaries.

The 20B was probably their production engine of greatest potential, and boost tapers off to about 4psi near redline to keep the power down.  People make roughly the same amount of power, sometimes more, by removing the turbos.  Less midrange power of course...

Can we get this engine as an option in the following package + RWD w/ a manual trans? 

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

And in brown, I assume?

Would the SUV for this engine also be the largest and heaviest Mazda ever?

maschinenbau said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I agree that if the halo car thing happens, it's likely a stretched and shared platform with the Miata like the NC/RX-8. Which is not a bad thing at all.

Agreed.  I'm thinking it'll either be a stretched, more GT oriented version of the Miata (maybe an NE Miata / new MX-6 pair?)  Or it'll come in the form of a new Mazda 6 intended to compete a little more with the Germans vs the Camry. 

DirtyBird222 said:

Remember when you could go to a Mazda dealer and pick from a Speed6, Speed3, MX-5, RX-8, or B Series truck instead of the jelly bean hellscape they offer today? 

I love that they are independent and do their own thing; but, nothing about their lineup today is going to pull me into their showroom or even visit their website. Keith is 100% right in that they need that Halo car to draw people in. 

And people often accuse me of living in the past.... 

In case you missed it, SUV's are what people are buying.  Even Porsche makes them.  Maybe the "halo" car Mazda needs is a powerful SUV that drives like a sedan.

As the current owner of a 2019 Mazda CX-9, I'd certainly consider another CX-9 with a nifty inline-6 powerplant in the not-too-distant future.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I'm not buying another not-5-door car and I don't really want an SUV.  I'd really prefer red, as usual, but I'll take brown.

Stick rwd wagon people seem to also think brown is a neat idea for some reason :) I think it would almost have to come in Soul Red because Mazda paints everything Soul Red.

Giving Soul Red a rating of "meh" but I doubt I have to worry about picking a color for this thing that Mazda won't build anyway.

I'm excited for this engine and for the CX-90, it should be a nice update vs CX-9 (which drives great for the segment but uses interior space poorly). 

Stellantis has their new inline six (Hurricane) in two power outputs, it's fantastic. I've also driven the 3.0L I6 from Land Rover in a few Defenders and a Range Rover, and Mercedes' 3.0L I6 in an E coupe. They all sound wonderful and make nice silky power across the rev range. Good shift from a V6 IMO.

Mazda needs this and it needs to be more of a revvy thing than the turbo 2.5 they have now. The 2.5T is great but very diesel-y and not especially fun, despite being placed in some great chassis.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Well, Soul Red is an awesome color

In reply to triumph7 :

Amen.

Brake_L8 (Forum Supporter) said:

I'm excited for this engine and for the CX-90, it should be a nice update vs CX-9 (which drives great for the segment but uses interior space poorly). 

Stellantis has their new inline six (Hurricane) in two power outputs, it's fantastic. I've also driven the 3.0L I6 from Land Rover in a few Defenders and a Range Rover, and Mercedes' 3.0L I6 in an E coupe. They all sound wonderful and make nice silky power across the rev range. Good shift from a V6 IMO.

Mazda needs this and it needs to be more of a revvy thing than the turbo 2.5 they have now. The 2.5T is great but very diesel-y and not especially fun, despite being placed in some great chassis.

Mercedes is making inline sixes again?  Neet.

Most Mercedes I see have some variation of the direct injected V6.  I did do some extensive work on a C300 over the past couple of months, which of course has a turbocharged 2l four cylinder.  I kinda like it.

Very interesting news! 

I *still* don't get the crossover hate. Crossovers are great for utilitarian daily use. In the end, selling a ton of crossovers lets a company like Mazda put out a performance sedan.

Let's just hope they get the engine tuning right and the engines don't eat themselves like some of their others have done.

 

Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) said:

Very interesting news! 

I *still* don't get the crossover hate. Crossovers are great for utilitarian daily use. In the end, selling a ton of crossovers lets a company like Mazda put out a performance sedan.

Let's just hope they get the engine tuning right and the engines don't eat themselves like some of their others have done.

I don't mind them in concept, but the reality doesn't always line up.  Many of the crossovers out there aren't any more utilitarian than a sedan or wagon could be, and by virtue of being tall and often proportionally short in length to make them not seem too big, they get worse fuel economy than a similarly capable car could.  The designers end up being a bit handicapped in the aero department by the desired height. 

j_tso said:

wasn't there also a rumor of Mazda working with Toyota on a sporty sedan? 

Will people complain if Toyota used a Mazda I6 instead of BMW's?

I think there are some growing partnerships here, the current north/south america yaris is the mazda2 made in mexico, the CX50 is built in a Toyota assembly plant in Alabama... 

1988RedT2 said:

DirtyBird222 said:

Remember when you could go to a Mazda dealer and pick from a Speed6, Speed3, MX-5, RX-8, or B Series truck instead of the jelly bean hellscape they offer today? 

I love that they are independent and do their own thing; but, nothing about their lineup today is going to pull me into their showroom or even visit their website. Keith is 100% right in that they need that Halo car to draw people in. 

And people often accuse me of living in the past.... 

In case you missed it, SUV's are what people are buying.  Even Porsche makes them.  Maybe the "halo" car Mazda needs is a powerful SUV that drives like a sedan.

As the current owner of a 2019 Mazda CX-9, I'd certainly consider another CX-9 with a nifty inline-6 powerplant in the not-too-distant future.

having a mazda without any ford in it is very appealing too 

In reply to rslifkin :

From an ergonomic and utilitarian standpoint, height is nice. I don't like having to do the limbo to get in the family BMW coupe or Hyundai sedan. I like the level entry of a moderately-sized truck or SUV, the higher vantage point and the headroom. I'm willing to sacrifice a little MPG and performance for these things. It's really not that complicated.

I'm very happy to see I6s make a comeback, Turbo 4s are fine and all on paper, but can't match the smoothness of a 6.

Six in a row is the way to go.  

frenchyd said:

Six in a row is the way to go.  

Unless, of course, you can get eight!