Tag Archives: Mazda

News

Mazda Wants Your Driving Habit to Save the Planet — And Its Race Car Is the Test Bed

Mazda has never been shy about zigging where the rest of the industry zags. Rotary engines long after everyone else gave up? Check. Putting handling above horsepower for decades? Absolutely. And now, in a world laser-focused on EVs, the company is testing a technology that sounds like science fiction: a car that captures its own CO₂ emissions while it drives.

CO₂ capture device installed on the demonstration vehicle

At the Japan Mobility Show 2025, Mazda doubled down on its manifesto, “The Joy of Driving Fuels a Sustainable Tomorrow.” And they mean it literally. The company’s long-term goal, pegged to 2035, is a bizarre but intriguing idea: the more you drive, the more CO₂ you remove from the atmosphere.

Yeah, we raised an eyebrow too.

Race Track First, Public Roads Later

To prove they’re serious, Mazda bolted its prototype system—called Mazda Mobile Carbon Capture—onto a race car. Not a show pony. A race car.

At the Super Taikyu Series Round 7 on November 15–16, the system made its debut aboard the MAZDA SPIRIT RACING 3 Future Concept (Car No. 55). The car ran on HVO biodiesel, a carbon-neutral fuel already in use across parts of Europe. That means the fuel itself doesn’t contribute net carbon. But Mazda’s aiming higher.

The onboard device uses zeolite, a porous mineral that behaves like a molecular sponge, to adsorb CO₂ directly from the exhaust stream. Not “reduce,” not “offset”—capture. Under real racing loads.

And according to Mazda, the system worked. It successfully trapped measurable CO₂ during the race.

A Small Step, A Big Claim

Let’s be clear: Mazda isn’t announcing a magic box that cancels out a road trip’s worth of emissions. This is early-stage tech, and even Mazda admits capture rates need to rise—dramatically—before anything transformative happens.

Demonstration vehicle

But the company is committing to more real-world testing in the 2026 Super Taikyu season, iterating hardware and refining the system. That’s notable. Race tracks are unforgiving R&D labs; if something can survive hours of high-RPM abuse, it has a shot at surviving daily driving.

Why This Matters

EV evangelists will rightly point out that carbon capture on combustion engines feels like prolonging the dinosaur age. But Mazda is playing a different long game, one rooted in practicality:

  • Internal-combustion vehicles will be on the road for decades.
  • Carbon-neutral fuels exist today.
  • Capturing exhaust CO₂ could help bridge the transition to whatever comes next.

If Mazda can scale this, it could carve out a uniquely sustainable role for combustion engines—one where enthusiasts don’t have to choose between performance and planetary guilt.

The Big Picture

Mazda’s “drive more, pollute less” vision sounds almost like satire from an alternate universe. Yet here they are, strapping experimental carbon sponges to race cars and chasing down a future where tailpipes become vacuum cleaners.

Is it the solution? Probably not the only one.

Is it peak Mazda? Absolutely.

And we’d expect nothing less from a company that still believes in the magic of throttle response, feedback, and the joy of movement.

Source: Mazda

NEW CARS

Mazda’s First True EV Takes Shape — And It Looks Like a CX-5 Reboot for the Electric Age

Mazda is finally warming up its electric motors. After years of dabbling around the edges of electrification with the quirky MX-30 and a handful of platform-sharing arrangements, Hiroshima’s most stubbornly driver-focused automaker is now deep into testing its first bespoke EV architecture—scheduled to debut in 2027. And the early evidence suggests it might arrive wearing one of the most important nameplates in the brand’s catalogue.

Mazda Goes All-In: The 6e Era Begins

For an automaker that prides itself on going its own way—long hoods, rear-biased dynamics, and an obsession with “jinba ittai” harmony—Mazda has been conspicuously absent from the bespoke-EV-platform club. Its sole EV, the MX-30, sat on a modified CX-30 chassis. Meanwhile, its new 6e sedan and EZ-60 SUV rely heavily on tech from Chinese partner Changan.

Not anymore.

Mazda has kicked off a $10 billion electrification campaign, and central to that plan is an in-house EV platform engineered by a dedicated skunkworks team dubbed E-Mazda. CTO Ryuichi Umeshita says he’s already driven an early prototype—and claims it feels exactly like a Mazda should.

“It’s a real jinba ittai car… It has very good driving dynamics,”
Umeshita told Autocar, sounding like a man genuinely relieved his new EV hasn’t turned into a soulless appliance.

Mazda knows it’s late to the game. But Umeshita insists that developing the MX-30—flawed though it was—gave the company a cadre of engineers who already understand the complicated world of EV packaging, safety, and integration.

A CX-5–Sized EV? The Spy Shots Say Yes

Early test mules have now hit public roads, and at a glance they look suspiciously like a downsized CX-90 wearing a not-so-convincing disguise. But look again:

  • The front-door-to-wheel-well distance is dramatically shortened
  • The overall proportions are trimmer
  • The arches swallow the wheels, hinting at an underlying EV skateboard layout

All signs point to a five-seat crossover roughly in the footprint of a CX-5 EV—a smart move if Mazda wants its first clean-sheet EV to actually sell. The CX-5 remains Mazda’s best-selling model globally. Giving buyers a familiar shape with an unfamiliar powertrain is just good business.

Volume or Niche? Mazda Still Isn’t Sure

Despite the prototypes roaming the streets, Mazda hasn’t even decided whether its EV debutante will be a high-volume mainstream model or a lower-volume halo.

Why? Because regulations, not marketing, will dictate the final answer.

“If the regulation requires a higher EV mix, it must be a volume car,”
Umeshita told Autocar.
“If the regulation is eased, then we can ease the volume restraints.”

Translation: Mazda is ready to pivot either way.

Lean, Mean, EV Machine Development

Perhaps the most Mazda-like part of this whole story is how the company plans to build the thing: efficiently and with a touch of quiet genius.

The brand has rolled out a “lean asset strategy” that relies heavily on:

  • Simulation-led R&D
  • AI-assisted engineering
  • Strategic partner-suppliers
  • Cost-cutting development processes

Mazda claims this approach will let them triple development output with the same resources—a crucial advantage for a relatively small automaker trying to compete with the likes of VW, Hyundai, and Tesla.

The Road Ahead

So what do we have? A shrunken CX-90 lookalike mule. A 2027 deadline. A new EV platform with “Mazda” written all over its handling DNA. A development process pulled tight like a drum.

If Mazda can deliver a genuinely engaging, beautifully built, reasonably priced EV crossover in the CX-5 mold… it might just pull off one of the quietest, most impressive comebacks of the electric transition.

And honestly?
We’re rooting for them. Mazda has always made cars for people who love driving. If they can bring that magic into the electric era, the market will be better for it.

Source: Mazda

Auctions

A VeilSide Mazda RX-7 from Tokyo Drift Heads to Auction

The Fast & Furious franchise has had its fair share of turbocharged highs and nitrous-fueled lows, but for purists, 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift remains the crown jewel. Long before the series turned into globe-trotting superhero fare, Tokyo Drift delivered something much more visceral—an unapologetic love letter to car culture. And at the heart of that love story was one car that stole the screen: Han’s Mazda RX-7.

With its curvaceous VeilSide Fortune bodykit and black-and-orange livery, Han’s RX-7 was less a tuner special and more a statement of intent—a bridge between the underground drift scene and high-end design. It looked like a concept car that accidentally wandered onto the streets of Shibuya, all attitude and apexes.

Next month, a machine built in that very spirit is set to cross the block at Mecum Auctions. And while it’s technically a replica, this RX-7 channels Han’s swagger in all the right ways—minus the right-hand drive setup that made parking-lot donuts a bit awkward on U.S. roads.

Built for Show and Go

The car wears a genuine VeilSide Fortune widebody kit, one of just nine originally constructed for Tokyo Drift. Beneath the hood sits Mazda’s famously temperamental 1.3-liter twin-rotor engine, freshly rebuilt and thoroughly modernized. The upgrades read like a tuner’s dream: an equal-length lower intake manifold, a BorgWarner turbocharger, a Haltech ECU, and a new Greddy intercooler feeding a completely overhauled fuel system.

Mecum hasn’t quoted exact figures, but let’s just say the combination of rotary noise and boost pressure promises to make Michelin’s Pilot Sport 4S tires earn their keep.

A Chassis Ready to Dance

The RX-7 sits on custom BC Forged three-piece wheels and rides on coilover suspension—because no self-respecting Tokyo Drift tribute should look good standing still. Stopping power comes from upgraded brakes with stainless steel lines, while a MagnaFlow midpipe and aftermarket exhaust promise the kind of soundtrack that’ll turn every tunnel into a concert hall.

Interior Upgrades for the Modern Age

Inside, the theme continues: purposeful, modern, and a little bit nostalgic. A Haltech digital dash replaces the original cluster, and a double-din infotainment system adds contemporary comfort without sacrificing style. Carbon fiber trim and a new shift knob add subtle flair, while upgraded speakers ensure the Tokyo Drift soundtrack sounds as good as you remember—should you feel like living out your own DK moment.

The Legend Lives On

Whether you’re a die-hard Fast & Furious fan chasing childhood dreams or just someone who appreciates a properly executed rotary restomod, this RX-7 delivers the goods. It’s fast, it’s furious, and it’s just civilized enough to survive a coffee run.

Han may have left the screen, but his spirit—equal parts cool confidence and controlled chaos—lives on in metal, fiberglass, and the whoosh of spooling boost.

Check out the listing at Mecum Auctions, and maybe—just maybe—bring a little piece of Tokyo Drift home.

Source: Mecum