The Mazda 929 from the '90s was a rear-wheel-drive technological marvel that was ultimately unsuccessful because of its hefty price tag and Americans' infatuation with the SUV. Times have changed and big cars are cool again, with just about everybody on the market offering a large sedan. Mazda, however, is an obvious exception. The artists over at CGI Automotive decided to render out a future Mazda9 just for fun, and while it looks a bit awkward, the overall idea is pretty solid.

Out front, the blue rendering holds true to the design of the upcoming Mazda6, but Audi-like jewelry has been added to the headlamps and the lower air dams look aggressive and sporty. The bulging wheel arches borrow from the Mazda6 and RX-8, and the roof-line is tapered to give it the four-door coupe look. The one thing that would have to change is the hatchback, which might be OK on smaller Mazdas, but is unattractive for a large flagship sedan. Would we like to see a Mazda9 flagship sedan? Hell yes, the more Zoom Zoom the better. But it would have to be more distinctive and less hatch-like, or it'd suffer the same fate as the 929 of years gone by.

If the all-new U.S. spec Mazda6 turns out to be a success, there is a possibility that the Japanese carmaker could consider adding a larger sedan in its car range. Just to be clear, we don’t have any information whatsoever that Mazda is actually considering a move like this. This rendering, created by the guys at CGI Automotive, is just a random attempt to show us how a larger Mazda9 echoing the style of the smaller Mazda6 could look like. We can’t say that we’re thrilled about this car’s styling. -Continued

Now, if we had a say in Mazda’s board, we’d propose an aggressively styled 4door-coupe model based on a slightly extended version of the U.S spec Mazda6 platform priced in the $30,000 range and equipped with AWD and V6 turbocharged engines. Think of it as a Mercedes CLS with AMG-like performance and a C-Class price tag. What do you think of our idea?