We’ll get our first taste of what Mazda has in store for us in the mid-size family car segment at this month’s 42nd edition of the Tokyo Motor Show with the Takeri concept, which previews the next generation of the Mazda6.
However, the Japanese brand’s engineers have already began work on the sedan model as you can see from these fresh spy shots that were taken in Germany.
A keen eye will immediately recognize that the lines of the prototype belong the current Mazda6. That’s because what you see here is an early test mule that combines the next model’s platform architecture with the body panels of the current Mazda6.
A closer look, however, reveals a wider front end and rear wheel arches that suggest an increase in the car’s front and rear tracks. Amusingly, aside from these changes and the camouflaged parts, Mazda’s engineers had also fitted the test mule with a…Toyota badge on the front grille.
On the outside, the production model will look very much like the handsome Takeri concept, which itself is inspired by the Shinari sports sedan study.
The new Mazda6 will be the second model after the CX-5 CUV to employ the Mazda’s breakthrough Skyactiv program, which is a suite of powertrains and a chassis architecture designed to save fuel and reduce emissions without taking the fun out of driving.
The Japanese automaker’s weight-saving strategy employs among other things, the use of lighter materials, new bonding techniques and a different design of underbody structures.
In most markets, the next Mazda6 will be offered with the automaker’s newest powertrains such as the SKYACTIV-G 2.0-liter gasoline engine and the SKYACTIV-D 2.2 diesel with a two-stage turbocharger, coupled to the new SKYACTIV-MT six-speed manual gearbox or the SKYACTIV-Drive six-speed automatic transmission.
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