Mazda's 6 is having a tough time finding love in its home market where it goes by the Atenza moniker. 7Tune is reporting that Mazda's going to flip the script and introduce three new variants of the Atenza; a coupe, a convertible, and a high performance version called the Mazdaspeed Atenza for JDM consumption. Mazda looked to the holy-grail BMW 3 series for inspiration, though that car is rear-wheel-drive, and hopes to achieve the same build quality with its Atenza line.
The vehicles in 7Tunes renderings are more conservatively styled than the current 3-Series, though that's hardly a bad thing. We think the renderings are easy on the eyes, with clear RX-8 influences, though all suffer from a basket-handle spoiler tacked on to the trunklid. It's tough to imagine the Mazdaspeed Atenza amounting to anything other than a tasty snack for the monstrous M3, though we're sure the Mazda will comport itself sportily. If any of this conjecture rings true, it's tough to go wrong benchmarking the icon of the segment.
[Source: 7tune]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
stefan @ Apr 14th 2008 1:07PM
You got to be joking, this mazda 6 coupe looks ten time's more exciting than the 3-serie coupe. Ad a mazdaspeed coupe version with the 2.5 turbo with around 300bhp. And you have a winner.
Tinu @ Apr 14th 2008 2:15PM
The red convertible in the picture looks like a Chevy Cavalier convertible :-D.
HotRodzNKustoms @ Apr 14th 2008 1:09PM
Convertible mazdas are the best
Holden Miecranc @ Apr 14th 2008 1:16PM
Whoo Hoo! It's a yellow Cobalt with a Mazda nose!
geo.stewart @ Apr 14th 2008 1:53PM
better than shooting for the Accord...
I'm just sayin
Xcountryflyer @ Apr 14th 2008 2:48PM
I hope that they wouldn't look this generic. I doubt Mazda would put out something that looked like a Cobalt meets Eclipse.
DCragtop @ Apr 14th 2008 1:18PM
Coupe is super-fresh-hot...as a convertible man & fan, I'm not digging the ragtop version though. Looks too Eclipse/Tiburan-ee. I know it may seem very 80's but I'm dreaming of the 6 coupe with a targa. Grrrrr.
tankd0g @ Apr 14th 2008 1:18PM
I agree it does look sort of Cobalt-ish, but I'm sure it'll be better in every way.
Chase @ Apr 14th 2008 1:25PM
Yeah, I'm not really digging it. Mazda has always been about making cars that are purposeful. Big coupes that could have had four doors with no sacrifices aren't purposeful. Cars with no back seats (or seats that are so small they hardly count) are the only cars that should have two doors.
Hamzah @ Apr 14th 2008 1:27PM
I don't know why, but I have a feeling that this is going to look nice. Don't forget these are stupid rendered speculations. Hopefully they can take inspiration from the Furai and those other concepts they did which looked much better then anything I've ever seen
Al @ Apr 14th 2008 1:36PM
I think the rendering looks good, but the only thing I'm not so sure about is the placement of the fog lights. they look like they're floating and don't belong there ... but have to wait and see how the actual design would be if mazda were to make this move. Otherwise, the car looks great! It'd be interesting to see if they make a similar move here in the US as other competitors in the segment have coupe variants of their midsize sedans....
NOreasonY @ Apr 14th 2008 1:36PM
yeah, but isn't our mazda 6 gonna look different from this? those all do look sweet though
Iridium @ Apr 14th 2008 1:38PM
Can we stop posting pics from Japanese tuner mags please. At least say that these were done in photoshop by an artist that has no relationship with Mazda at all.
The rendered speculation in the headline says this a little bit but this mag is as credible to the final design as it would be if I did the renderings.
RCL1221 @ Apr 14th 2008 1:38PM
Why can't these be RWD?
Anyone else think the coupe looks like an '04 GTO?
apearlman @ Apr 14th 2008 1:44PM
The coupe seems like Mazda is looking for an answer to the Accord and Altima coupes. I don't see the point of a big car with only 2 doors, but Honda and Nissan are apparently finding plenty of people who disagree with me.
I like the convertible idea, though. Besides Chrysler, Toyota and Pontiac's flawed offerings, there aren't really any 4-passenger convertibles out there at sub-$35K prices. Mazda can make theirs a bit sportier and have a unique product.
mk @ Apr 14th 2008 2:06PM
2nd that.
This is a bigger cruiser-FWD coupe off the sedan block.
Altima, Accord, Camry-Solara. It may be sportier than those, but that isn't all that hard to do.
This is not a compact sport coupe. This is no Kabura.
Wake me up when Zoom-Zoom actually means what it says, and they release a Kabura with a longitudinal 2.5 DISI turbo engine, driving the rear wheels via Limited Slip Differential, in a sexy coupe shape. Kabura concept, perhaps with a few of Furai's lines.
It kills me, as a Miata owner, that the "Soul of a Sports Car" company that built the FD3S RX7, and the NB Mazdaspeed Miata (which could easily have been even more than it was...) has no 3-door hatchback RWD turbocharged Coupe.
They have the engine (DISI Turbocharged 2.3-2.5 I4), they have the chassis (MX5, shortened RX8, same difference), and they even have the concept down. (Kabura concept car)
Just build the damn thing, already!!!!
This 6/Atenza coupe is fine and all, but not that exciting.
Val @ Apr 14th 2008 5:04PM
Please, name one company that currently sells a 3-door hatchback, RWD, with a turbo engine? Besides the BMW 1-series, and they don't even offer the hatch in the US i think. And the STi is AWD, so it doesn't count. What is your definition of Zoom-Zoom, and does owning a mazda product give you "the right" to demand anything from them. What you are saying is that the MANUFACTURER, who started advertising the 6 with "zoom-zoom" doesn't know what it means. I certainly don't think the old 6 was a RWD hatchback, and mazda sure as hell can use any words it likes in its own advertising campaign.
Way of the Future @ Apr 14th 2008 2:20PM
i have an RX-8 and have driven Mazda 3s and Miatas and Mazda has some of the best steering feel, no matter RWD or FWD.
This car does look like a cobalt in the back, and for a real sports car, it would need to be rwd and with subaru/toyota making an awd coupe who know where this would fit in the USDM.
John R @ Apr 14th 2008 2:29PM
I'm not really seeing the Cobalt in this.
Maybe its the color as the yellow in the image on the right sort of looks like the same shade of yellow on the SS Cobalt from awhile back.
But I can't see any Cobalt in the front or the rear. I don't know what everyone else is seeing.
I3ziko @ Apr 14th 2008 2:30PM
this is all speculation, mazda has no plans for a 2dr atenza because they have RWD rx-8. mazdaspeed6 (mps in europe) is also not planned. mazda has only confirmed new 2.2 diesel that will make around 170hp.