Mazda has given us our first glimpse of its new three-row SUV called the CX-90, which is part of the company’s Large Product group that includes the already announced CX-60 as well as the upcoming CX-70 and CX-80.
Set to debut for the North American market (and possibly more) , the CX-90 will be the brand’s largest model and will eventually replace the CX-9. Like the CX-60 that isn’t destined for the region, the CX-90 is built on Mazda’s Skyactiv Multi-Solution Scalable Architecture with a front-engine longitudinal layout and rear-wheel drive.
The exact engine isn’t confirmed but there will be a inline-six unit, making the CX-90 the second Mazda model to get such an engine after the CX-60. The brand’s line-up of inline-six engines currently consists of a turbocharged 3.3 litre petrol, a Skyactiv-X (spark-controlled compression-ignition) 3.0 litre mild hybrid and two turbodiesel 3.3 litre units (including one mild hybrid).
The provided teaser image doesn’t reveal a whole lot in terms of design, although we can expect design cues that are reminiscent of recent Mazda models and dimensions exceeding the current CX-9 – the company says its newest flagship vehicle will be “wider, longer and have more aggressive proportions than any current Mazda vehicle.” For a baseline, the CX-9 measures 5,075 mm long, 1,969 mm wide, 1,747 mm tall and has a wheelbase of 2,930 mm.
Even though we don’t get to see the latest evolution of Mazda’s Kodo design philosophy, the Japanese carmaker was more than happy to highlight a new paint colour option called Artisan Red Premium. “The concept underlying design was to create the red found in a mature wine made with unsurpassed craftsmanship,” the company said in a separate release.
Artisan Red Premium is the fourth Takuminuri color after Rhodium White, Machine Grey and Soul Red Crystal. According to Mazda, the new hue is similar to Soul Red Crystal and is comprised of three layers: a clear layer, translucent paint layer and a reflective/absorptive layer.
“For the translucent paint layer, a high-chroma pigment is employed that people perceive to be the reddest of reds, a pigment also used for the Soul Red Crystal. For the reflective/absorptive layer, we applied a technology that more smoothly aligns aluminum flakes at regular intervals,” Mazda explains.
“This was also leveraged for the third Takuminuri color Rhodium White Premium. In addition, we improved on the jet-black pigment, which renders shade in the second color Machine Gray. This combination of technologies developed over a period of 10 years conveys brightness in highlights produced by strong reflection and the richness of shades created as light is soundly absorbed so as to achieve a balance between transparency and a mature profoundness,” it added.
There is still some time to go before we get to see the CX-90 in full, with a world debut only scheduled to take place in January 2023, so expect more teasers to come in the following weeks. While it appears the CX-90 will first be heading to North America (joining the CX-50 and upcoming CX-70), Europe, Japan and other markets will get its own SUVs in the form of the three-row CX-80 and two-row CX-60.
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