A few months ago, we heard that Mazda was readying an inline-six engine for use in upcoming larger vehicles, including large sedans and crossover SUVs that could incorporate hybrid technology. We even found some patent filings that showed the inline-six's notably compact design. Mounted longitudinally—so, pointed north and south in the car, front to back—this increased the potential for dynamically interesting, rear-drive (or rear-drive-based all-wheel drive) models in the BMW mold. A Mazda investor presentation provides some more details about what those vehicles will look like, and how this new large vehicle platform could spawn a hybrid SUV for America.

The report was first spotted by the Japanese publication Car Watch and can be found here in PDF form. The good stuff is in the part of the slide deck discussing upcoming technology, which will arrive in the next two years.  In the image available in the slide deck, both the inline-six engines sport turbocharging, and the flat cylinder head displayed on the right appears to be from the diesel version. The presentation states that the inline-six will be available in all three of Mazda's combustion types: traditional gasoline internal combustion, diesel, and the innovative Skyactiv-X spark-controlled compression-ignition. Remember, we still don't have any versions of Skyactiv-X for sale in North America and likely won't for some time; it's available in Europe in inline-four format currently in the Mazda 3 and CX-30, however.

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