Mazda will reveal a new sports car concept powered by renewable fuels at the upcoming Tokyo motor show.

An official preview image leaves much to the imagination, but it shows the concept is a four-door coupé with a steeply raked roofline. The cut-outs around the car’s rear deck suggest it may also have an active spoiler.

Mazda said the concept will demonstrate how it aims to build sustainable driver's cars into the distant future – "toward the year 2035" – without relying on battery-electric powertrains.

Alongside the concept, the brand will show a new CO2 capture system claimed to cut emissions the more a car is driven, as well as a carbon-neutral fuel produced using algae.

Mazda has become one of the industry’s largest proponents of renewable fuels as an alternative to battery-electrification, owing to its legacy of building lightweight sports cars such as the MX-5. Transitioning such models to battery-electric power without a significant increase in weight poses a real challenge, given existing battery technology.

Last year, it partnered with Toyota and Subaru in an engine development project described by Toyota CEO Koji Sato as a “friendly competition”, aimed at further optimising combustion power. 

Mazda president and CEO Masahiro Moro said: “We will continue to offer customers exciting cars by honing internal combustion engines for the electrification era and expanding the multi-pathway possibilities for achieving carbon neutrality.”

Mazda presented a new development of its signature rotary engine designed to fit into the same space as an electric motor, allowing it to be transplanted into existing battery-electric models. 

Mazda also races an MX-5 and a 3 hatchback powered by carbon-neutral fuels in Japan’s Super Taikyu series.