Mazda’s introduction of a new 170kW (228hp) 2.5L turbo-petrol engine in the CX-9 SUV reignited rumours that the brand might use the same engine to reintroduce a new range of ‘MPS’ (or ‘Mazdaspeed’) performance vehicles. I mean take a moment and imagine a new Mazda 6 MPS, 3 MPS or even a CX-5 MPS? Sadly, Mazda’s global marketing chief Masahiro Moro threw a big bucket of water over the speculation bonfire this week, stating that new MPS models simply aren’t a priority for the brand.
“At this moment no,” Moro said. “We have very good line up finally completed, the new CX-9 is about to arrive. So we have big transformation in the line-up, all six models are built, we really focus on these six models to improve potential business for the next 2-3 years, which is my first priority rather than go to a different territory.” In other words, Mazda is thinking long-term, focusing more on increasing sales of its volume selling range of family vehicles first, before doing anything else.
Moro did concede that a 2.5L turbocharged Mazda 6 would technically be possible, “I think technically a turbo-petrol Mazda 6 is possible if you see the marketability, it could be one possibility in the future, but I think a majority or centre of gravity of that segment is the naturally-aspirated 2.5-litre. which I think is obvious in US,” he said. Moro also added that the Mazda 6 trailed the segment’s big players, such as the Toyota Camry, Honday Accord and Nissan Altima – and that adding a diesel engine to the car would be the first step.
This is bad news for fans of the old 3 MPS, and even older 6 MPS which was discontinued in 2007. While we may eventually see a new range of MPS vehicles from Mazda in the future, it’d most likely be sometime after 2020.