The all-new 6 is set to debut at the Frankfurt auto show in September.
Mazda just announced that an all-new Mazda 6 will debut at the upcoming Frankfurt auto show in September. Official details are still sparse, but the company has released a single image of the new car, which you see here.
So what’s new? In a word, everything. From what we can make out from our last spy shots, which show V-6 and four-cylinder models, the car will grow quite a bit, and its already aggressive styling gets even more aggressive. Specific details we like include the multi-element headlamps and taillamps, the protuberant hood (it now dips down below the grille), and the steeply raked roofline. The latter is definitely great-looking, but we worry that it may make the rear seats less than accommodating for tall passengers.
Inside, things are looking good, too. The center-stack controls combine the style of the RX-8 with an ergonomic arrangement that appears to be inspired by the Toyota Camry. That’s no bad thing, especially if the 6 still drives like a Mazda.
Speaking of driving, we’re still not sure how much of the 6’s platform and powertrain components will be shared with the new European Ford Mondeo, but we’re hoping a lot. Either way, Mazda has a pretty good track record of pumping out fun-to-drive cars in spite of the best efforts of its parent company’s in-house cost cutters. Expect even more acute handling, as well as a choice of more-potent four-cylinder and V-6 engines under the hood, the latter being the corporate 3.5-liter of about 260 horsepower (as found in many other FoMoCo products). All-wheel-drive and hybrid variants will also appear, likely within a year.
This time around, the 6 will be offered only as a sedan and five-door hatch, the latter being more important to Europe than the U.S. (but we love it just the same). Low demand for the current Mazda 6 Sport wagon, which was discontinued for 08, has rendered it a no-deal for the second-gen 6. As for the Mazdaspeed 6, which is also gone for 08, let’s just say it’s on hiatus until the new 6 gets its legs. We see a direct-injection, turbocharged V-6 with all-wheel drive in its future, similar (although probably not identical) to that found in the upcoming Lincoln MKS.
Shortly after the 6’s Frankfurt reveal, production will begin at the same plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, that has been building the 6 since the beginning, with the vehicle reaching dealerships in early 08 as 09 models.
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