This is Mazda’s brand new Mazda3, which will see the light of day at next month’s Los Angeles motor show.

It’ll be revealed in four-door form only, with the more UK-friendly five-door showing its face in 2009. The front half of this saloon version should be fairly interchangeable with its hatchback counterpart, though – which means a dramatic, RX-8 inspired car to take the fight to its more conservative Ford and VW rivals.

The current Mazda3 is one of the brand’s most successful cars, selling almost two million units globally and accounting for a third of the manufacturer’s total sales. The new version is expected to boast improved dynamics and performance, twinned with cleaner emissions and a bigger environmental conscience thanks to Mazda’s ‘Sustainable Zoom-Zoom’ vision.

At the heart of this will be 2.2-litre diesel, which is said to outperform the MPS petrol hot hatch that tops the range at the moment.