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c'mon Mazda!
these 4 cylinders are cool and all but to really gain traction in the US market you're going to need something bigger to put in these upmarket cars you're starting to produce.
I6 FWD sounds like a stretch. It's simply way too wide to fit in the engine bay.
Most of the mid-size sedan is already really wide nowadays with I4(T) or V6. Imagine having to make them wider just so you can fit a transverse I6 in there. Not feasible.
An I6 also can't just be dumped in an FWD car designed with an I4. A V6 is better in this regard.
I do like I6 a lot. Drove an old 325 before with an I6 in it and it's silky smooth.
Last edited by UnknownJinX; 05-16-2018 at 04:29 PM.
I6 FWD sounds like a stretch. It's simply way too wide to fit in the engine bay.
Most of the mid-size sedan is already really wide nowadays with I4(T) or V6. Imagine having to make them wider just so you can fit a transverse I6 in there. Not feasible.
An I6 also can't just be dumped in an FWD car designed with an I4. A V6 is better in this regard.
I do like I6 a lot. Drove an old 325 before with an I6 in it and it's silky smooth.
I have a feeling this was little more than an engineering study, but it could make sense for them depending upon their product planning in the future. MB and Jaguar are going back to inline 6's, from the V6 design as they are RWD-heavy (with FWD vehicles as well) and it is easier for them to develop an I4/I6 architecture with commonality than to maintain a V engine alongside the I4's. There are rumors that Mazda may mix in more RWD in their effort to go up-market, which would open up a justification for a more-refined engine (more cylinders) and an I6 would be easy to develop off of the existing Sky-G engine. I6's are also inherently balanced on the first two orders of harmonics, making them smoother without a massive crankshaft.
Until we see some actual product or confirmation from Mazda, I still consider this an unlikely, but possible future.
IF Mazda wants a bigger/more powerful version of 2.0 Skyactiv-X (assumed that final numbers of 2.0 will be around 190-195 Hp) an inline 6 ciylinder 3.0 liter makes sense.
this leads to a RWD car and the overall styling of the latest concept.