Mazda targets Aston
Svelte four-door Vision Coupé concept could preview range-topping sports car
Four-door coupé shows intent
Mazda has offered its clearest hint yet that it is planning to launch an Aston Martin-rivalling grand tourer with the Vision Coupé concept that it has revealed at the Tokyo motor show this week.
The striking four-door coupé features what Mazda called the next generation of its ‘Kodo’ design language, with “less is more” styling. Mazda says it draws inspiration from the R360 from 1960 and Luce from 1969, although the concept can also be regarded as a spiritual successor to the RX-7. No performance details about the concept have been revealed.
The firm is understood to have been considering a new sports car since it unveiled an RX Vision concept at Tokyo in 2015. Mazda was believed initially to be looking at a new rotary-engined machine but could use a version of its Skyactiv-x compression ignition technology, which is due in 2019. Company officials have previously told Autocar that the Skyactiv-x engine is designed to work with electrified elements, suggesting a hybrid unit could be used to add performance.
Mazda recently unveiled its ‘Zoom Zoom 2030’ plan for the future, which includes the launch of Skyactiv-x, its new design language and a new customisable vehicle architecture platform. That road map helps build to the firm’s centenary in 2020, which would be an obvious date for Mazda to launch a new rangetopping sports car.
The Vision Coupé features an uncluttered interior design that Mazda says reflects the Japanese concept of ‘ma’, using space to create atmosphere.