Mazda Koeru SUV concept teased : Mysterious potential ‘CX-4’ crossover in the works

A new concept car called the Mazda Koeru will make its world premiere at the Frankfurt motor show on September 17. It’s billed as a crossover concept that offers “sporty yet refined styling and driving performance”.

It’s not the Mazdaspeed 3 hot hatch everyone was expecting, that’s for sure.

The company is keeping deliberately vague on just what the Koeru concept previews, though in signature style it released a teaser today in the form a rendering, done by Luca Zollino.

A line in the accompanying release is interesting. The word “Koeru” in Japanese denotes exceeding or going beyond something arbitrary, which Mazda says reflects the concept’s mission to “exceed existing category standards and stereotypes”.

The low-slung crossover features overtly aggressive styling and exaggerated proportions, and continues the company’s signature KODO design language. In Mazda design-speak, this is translated as: “The power and vitality of a wild animal while maintaining a sense of refined dignity”.

Under the body will be the company’s latest suite of SkyActiv technologies, referring to lightweight architectures and drivetrains.

So, what is this car, the Koeru?

Above: the Minagi concept became the CX-5 we know today. Could it soon have a fastbacked twin?

You may recall we wrote a story a little while back flagging the potential for a circa 4.75-metre long car to slot between the CX-5 and CX-9 (a brand new iteration of which premieres in LA this November).

Such a vehicle could be a… err... vehicle for a return to the CX-7 badge, which made way for the CX-5 when it launched in 2012.

More likely, though, this car is likely a ‘CX-4’ or ‘CX-6’ that complements the CX-5 in the way the BMW X4 works next to the BMW X3.

Mazda’s SkyActiv architectures are modular, so spinning off a new ‘top hat’ body onto an existing SUV structure with some tweaks seems like a cost-effective way to grow the range and capitalise on the world’s insatiable lust for crossover SUVs.

It’s worth mentioning that, when Mazda does a concept car of this type, it generally sees it though with production cars that stay unusually faithful to the design: the Shinari/Takeri morphed into the Mazda 6, the Minagi became the CX-5 and the Hazumi became the Mazda 2.

We’ll bring you more details as soon as we know them.