Mazda announced the development of inline-six engines in its March 2019 investor report. Now, the powerplant is coming to the United States. A new teaser for the CX-90 provides a glimpse of a badge that says"...LINE 6."
Not many details are available about the Mazda inline-six mills. The gas-fueled version reportedly displaces 3.0 liters and appears to be turbocharged based on earlier photos.
The 3.3-liter turbodiesel makes 228 horsepower (170 kilowatts) and 369 pound-feet (500 Newton-meters). There's also a mild-hybrid version of this mill making 251 hp (187 kW) and 406 lb-ft (550 Nm). Don't expect the oil-burners to be available in the US.
In a short press release on the CX-90 teaser, Mazda confirms the SUV will debut in January 2023. It's unknown if the debut will be connected to a show like CES in Las Vegas, or a standalone event held by Mazda. Wherever the reveal takes place, it will be a worldwide affair with the SUV landing as a 2024 model.
Mazda reportedly intended to install these inline-six engines in models riding on a new, rear-wheel-drive platform. A future iteration of the Mazda6 was allegedly using this tech. It was supposed to debut in the first half of 2022, but that didn't happen. There was even a rumor of the automaker sharing these underpinnings with Toyota and Lexus.
Mazda said the inline-six engines were likely its final combustion powerplants. The company makes a tiny step into EVs with the MX-30.
Through October 2022, Mazda has sold 240,710 in the US for the year – a 17.8 percent drop from 292,732 vehicles through this point in 2021. The CX-90 should replace the CX-9 in the brand's lineup. The crossover has 26,860 deliveries in the first 10 months of 2022, which is down 13.8 percent from 31,172 examples in the same per period last year.
In Europe, Mazda recently introduced the rear-wheel-drive-only CX-80. It's a three-row version of the CX-60 and reportedly has a slightly larger body to fit the extra seats. The model is not coming to the US. Instead, Americans get the CX-70 and CX-90.
