New Mazda Vision X-Coupe could inspire a future flagship

Mazda has revealed a sleek, high-riding four-door concept, the Vision X-Coupe, at this year’s Japan Mobility Show. This sleek creation is a looking glass into a potential future Mazda flagship, in both design and technology. 

The Vision X-Coupe, or ‘Cross-Coupe’ as it’s called, features a dramatic extension of Mazda’s flexible powertrain strategy, marking the first appearance of a new twin-rotary plug-in hybrid set-up that runs on renewable fuels and features carbon-capture technology.

The crux of Mazda’s stunning new concept is that it plans to offer all things to all people, with zero compromise. However, if you’re in the market for a Mazda you can buy today, check out the Auto Express buy a car service.

So, that complicated powertrain...

We’ve heard of plug-in hybrids and we’ve heard of rotaries, but rarely have they been put together. The Vision X-Coupe does just that by combining a turbocharged twin-rotary combustion engine with a substantial battery pack and an electric motor. Mazda hasn’t revealed any technical specifications, but quotes an all-electric range of 100 miles from the battery, with the petrol engine adding a further 400 miles to that figure. 

That isn’t all, though, because Mazda is also working on a carbon-capture system that’s attached directly to the exhaust. By filtering out the CO2 while it’s at a high concentration, Mazda is then able to condense that carbon and use it for something else, avoiding it being pumped into the surrounding air.  

Mazda’s also working on its own type of algae-based e-fuel, which absorbs carbon from the atmosphere in its production. Combine this with the technically ‘zero-emission’ exhaust filtration system and Mazda says that this will actually be a carbon-negative car. None of this tech is production ready, but it reveals Mazda’s thinking about the future of combustion engines in its cars.

What is production relevant?

Mazda hesitated to confirm that this model will be directly relevant to a future flagship; instead, it represents what a large, rear-wheel-biased PHEV could look like. It’s clear that this model is based on the design language first shown on the Mazda 3 hatchback, but thanks to the longer and sleeker proportions, it looks much more upmarket. 

Classic Mazda design elements like the grille and lighting have all been reinterpreted, with the front daytime running lights taking the place of the chrome grille. This is still an ICE car, though, so underneath is a full-width opening giving the requisite cooling. 

At the rear, the lighting is flush with the bodywork, and shows a new interpretation of the typical two-element design. Overall, the design is very clean and sleek; and despite the car’s ‘cross’ moniker, it doesn’t look uncomfortable on its slightly raised ride height. 

What does the interior tell us?

Not even Mazda is immune to the need of digitisation, with its new 6e and CX-5 both featuring massive tablet-like screens. But the Vision X-Coupe shows something rather different, with a narrow screen stretching across a small opening in the simply styled dashboard. 

There are no physical controls, but there is a large, wide centre console with a traditional gear selector, showing yet more evidence that Mazda is more interested in the tactile functions within the car, rather than turning its cars’ interiors into a mobile office. 

To this end, it’s impossible to ignore the three dial-like screens in front of the perfectly round steering wheel – it’s all very clean, concise and driven by Mazda’s desire for its cars to remain the most fun-to-drive of their competitors. The question is: will Mazda build this concept? Potentially, if not with this specific powertrain. Remember that the company does have its own family of inline six-cylinder engines, which are Euro 7 compliant, and a rear-drive chassis to put them in. Watch this space. 

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