Toyota using Mazda inline 6

I do not recall reading this anywhere https://www.autotrader.ca/newsfeatures/20190620/lexus-planning-use-of-mazda-hybrid-inline-six-cylinder/

Because Toyota is apparently disinterested in designing anything for themselves...

I'm more surprised that Mazda is making an inline-6 than that Toyota would borrow it.

"Best Car says the next-gen Mazda6 will appear with the new six-cylinder and rear-wheel drive platform in 2022." That could be...interesting.

Designed a completely new V-8 to compete in NASCAR. Uses Subaru, BMW, and now Mazda guts? Got it.

"God, I can't wait for the new Mazda 6-cylinder, based on their long history of sweet sixes..."

.....said nobody ever. Not so say it won't be a good engine. Just seems odd that Lexus would stake a new model on another marque's brand-new engine. 

Especially considering Toyota already has a BMW inline-6 in the Supra, not sure why they don't just put a detuned version of the B58 in the Lexus for a shade over 300hp. 

Moot point for me, since I'm in the market for neither, and I'm sure none of them will offer a manual. 

I want to like this but when Toyota did an ostensibly cool thing and took the fun to drive Mazda2 for their smallest US market sedan, they managed to completely ruin it with horrendous styling. 

It's interesting that Toyota of all companies would license hybrid anything from Mazda but 48v mild hybrids are the wave of... the interim, if not the future. 

I do think that eventually Mazda's upcoming integrated rotary/electric 'drive module' will be very widely licensed or copied.

It's a rumor from a Japanese car magazine. I won't believe anything until I actually see an inline 6 from Mazda first, especially after years of concept cars leading to nothing and numerous rumored new rotary cars in 2 years.

j_tso said:

It's a rumor from a Japanese car magazine. I won't believe anything until I actually see an inline 6 from Mazda first, especially after years of concept cars leading to nothing and numerous rumored new rotary cars in 2 years.

A 2-rotor wankel is sort of an inline-6, right?  :)

Toyota used a whole Mazda car recently, and may still. I think they've gotten too big for themselves. 

Mndsm said:

Toyota used a whole Mazda car recently, and may still. I think they've gotten too big for themselves. 

Now both the Yaris hatchback and the Yaris sedan are a reskinned Mazda Demio

Toyota is pretty much painfully conservative at this point.  It feels like they're willing to design / build stuff themselves if they know they can sell a ton of it.  But if they're not sure how many they can sell, they'd rather buy some or all of it from another company and not burn the R&D money.  

rslifkin said:

Toyota is pretty much painfully conservative at this point.  It feels like they're willing to design / build stuff themselves if they know they can sell a ton of it.  But if they're not sure how many they can sell, they'd rather buy some or all of it from another company and not burn the R&D money.  

Sounds like a smart plan to me. 

z31maniac said:

rslifkin said:

Toyota is pretty much painfully conservative at this point.  It feels like they're willing to design / build stuff themselves if they know they can sell a ton of it.  But if they're not sure how many they can sell, they'd rather buy some or all of it from another company and not burn the R&D money.  

Sounds like a smart plan to me. 

Yeah, I can't exactly fault that from a business point of view.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/mazda-skyactiv-inline-6/153700/page1/

Here the thread from last month about the Mazda engine FWIW.

NickD said:

z31maniac said:

rslifkin said:

Toyota is pretty much painfully conservative at this point.  It feels like they're willing to design / build stuff themselves if they know they can sell a ton of it.  But if they're not sure how many they can sell, they'd rather buy some or all of it from another company and not burn the R&D money.  

Sounds like a smart plan to me. 

Yeah, I can't exactly fault that from a business point of view.

It's a win for both companies, toyota shoulders lots of costs. But mazda gets to do the engineering. Partnerships like  these are what allowed the ND to get built and be as good as it is...because FCA picked up part of the tab on engineering.