Mazda patent filing points to new coupe

Mazda appears to have a sports coupe in the works.

Mazda blog Taku2-4885 has found Japanese patent filings that reveal Mazda has patented the aluminium spaceframe structure of a new two-door coupe model.

One drawing gives us our best look at the vehicle, revealing a rear three-quarter view of a two-door coupe that looks quite similar to the 2015 RX-Vision concept.

We can see a shapely coupe silhouette with muscular haunches, a steeply raked rear window, and a short rear deck.

Unfortunately, none of the other technical drawings give us a look at what the rest of the body of this mystery coupe will look like.

The filing follows another from earlier in 2021, unearthed by newnissanz.com, that reveals a logo for a new R sub-brand.

Using the R brand would be a departure from the norm for Mazda, which has previously used MPS, RX, and MazdaSpeed badging for its performance cars.

It did, however, recently use the R360 coupe in a range of images to celebrate its 100th Anniversary.

We know Mazda is working on the new rear/all-wheel drive Large Architecture, expected to underpin the next-generation Mazda 6 and CX-5, which will debut a family of inline six-cylinder engines.

Displacing 3.0 or 3.3 litres, the new petrol and diesel engines will be available with 48V mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid technology.

The company has also confirmed it’s working on a new rotary engine, though it won’t power an RX-8 successor.

Instead, the rotary engine will serve as a petrol range extender in the MX-30, joining the existing mild-hybrid petrol and all-electric powertrain options.

Rumours of a revived RX-badged Mazda have swirled since the RX-8 ended production in 2012.

After revealing the RX-Vision concept in 2015, Mazda introduced a racing version of it, albeit only for the Gran Turismo Sport video game.

This patent of an RX-Vision-look vehicle follows another patent filing in 2020 by Mazda for an electrified drivetrain.

It used a front-mounted combustion engine with a rear-mounted electric motor and a small lithium-ion battery, plus in-wheel electric motors at the front powered by a capacitor system.

Though a specific internal combustion engine wasn’t detailed, the filing did mention a rotary engine would work well with this layout due to its compact dimensions.