2009 Mazda 3 (Possible) Concept Uncovered

UPDATE: (2nd July 2008): Sorry folks, these have been debunked as fakes. A Russian intarwebber by the name of Grif-1 has claimed them as his own creation, trumpeting the virtues of Photoshop and 3D Studio Max in the process. Mazda, anyone, give this man a job. Heck, give him a duchy to rule over.

Some interesting images have surfaced this morning. Is this the next Mazda 3?

Of the entire Mazda range, the current 3 has become the elder statesmen of the gang. Given its top-selling record, the fellas at Mazda are no doubt heavy in the back of the pants when it comes to ensuring the next model maintains that dominance.

While the Mazda 2 has been doing quite well, the new 6 has been lagging a little more than Mazda may have expected, so the new 3 has more riding on its shoulders than just its own success.

As far as concepts go, this one does carry a lot of the lines and styling seen on the new 6 (and no small amount of RX-8 in the front bar), so it's not unreasonable to think this could be a genuine preview of the new 3 hatch.

Pop on through for more images.