The next-generation Mazda6 will adopt a rear-wheel drive architecture and be available with a host of inline-six engines. However, one individual in China already owns a rear-wheel drive Mazda6, and it rocks a V8 engine.
This particular Mazda6 has been around for a number of years now but only recently came across our radar. It is a 2016 model and from the outside, it looks completely stock. However, found beneath the skin is an all-new powertrain.
Engine Swap Depot states that this Mazda6 originally left the factory with a 2.0-liter SkyActive-G four-cylinder but the owner wasn’t satisfied with its power and swapped it for a 2.5-liter SkyActiv-G engine that was later supercharged. That would be more than enough grunt for most Mazda6 owners but the car was then sent to a tuner dubbed OMAS for some even more significant upgrades.
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Gone is a Mazda engine and instead, the car is now rocking the 4.3-liter naturally aspirated V8 of a Lexus LS430. This engine was used between 2000 and 2006 and from the factory pumped out 290 hp and 320 lb-ft (434 Nm) of torque at 3,400 rpm. Coupled to this engine is a new transmission and a rear-wheel drive setup, allowing the car to do some very impressive burnouts.
Rear Subframe From A 2008 Toyota Crown
Fitting a V8 into the engine bay of the Mazda6 took quite a lot of work. In fact, the firewall and transmission tunnel had to be modified. The Mazda was also equipped with a new cooling system, exhaust, and fuel tank and it is also rocking the rear end and subframe from a 2008 Toyota Crown.
Perhaps the coolest thing about this Mazda6 is the fact that from the outside, it looks completely stock. Heck, it appears as though even the original wheels have been retained. What’s more, the interior also looks just like it did from the factory, apart for the black Alcantara across the steering wheel and the red paddle shifters.