Mazda retunes CX-60 and CX-80 suspension again for 2027, but Australia is still waiting

Mazda has announced a third round of suspension changes for the CX-60 and the first for the CX-80, covering European-market cars due in showrooms from December 2026. The updates centre on revised rear suspension crossmember bushings, which the company says improve ride comfort, plus added sound insulation and a new semi-autonomous parking system.

Mazda Australia has declined to confirm whether or when the updates will reach local showrooms, so local buyers face an open question on timing.

The suspension work continues a pattern. Mazda began fitting revised rear shock absorbers to the CX-60 at the factory in late 2023, then offered Australian buyers the same parts as a free retrofit the following year. May 2025 brought a further revision with softer rear springs, increased rear rebound damping and firmer front compression damping. The 2027 changes are the third suspension update for the CX-60 in as many years, and the first for its seven-seat CX-80 sibling.

What else changes for 2027

Beyond the bushings, the updated models gain more sound-absorbing material in the engine bay and between the engine and the cabin. A new Active Parking Control system can handle both parallel and perpendicular parking manoeuvres without driver input on the wheel.

The paint charts shift too: Deep Crystal Blue mica makes way for Aero Grey on the CX-60, while Polymetal Grey joins the CX-80 range. Neither is currently offered in Australia, where Machine Grey Metallic is the only grey finish on either model.

The bigger overhaul is still coming

Mazda president Masahiro Moro confirmed in August that the CX-60 and CX-80, along with their Large Architecture siblings the CX-70 and CX-90, are in line for much deeper changes. Sales have fallen short of projections. "We will be working on the exterior, interior, and powertrain, and will be upgrading them on a scale never seen before," he said in translated remarks carried by Japanese outlet Chugoku Shimbun, adding that Mazda would turn them into products people call the brand's flagship.

Moro did not specify the extent of those changes or a timeline. The 2027 suspension and equipment updates look like an interim step while that larger program develops, and no changes have been detailed yet for the US-focused CX-70 and CX-90.

Where that leaves Australian buyers

Australia is the only market in the world to sell all four Large Architecture SUVs, yet it has no confirmed date for any of these updates. Local pricing for the updated cars has not been announced either.

Given the pattern so far, the suspension hardware itself is a plausible candidate for a local retrofit as before, but Mazda has not said so, and the new paint names and parking tech would need separate confirmation. Buyers considering a CX-60 or CX-80 now are effectively choosing between buying today or waiting for a date Mazda has not given.

Porsche has revealed the Mission S, a mid-engined hypercar concept with an open-top two-door body and no electric hardware, at a presentation in Queens, New York. The car previews a combustion-powered super sports car that will sit above the 911 in the range as a permanent model, not a limited-run flagship like the Carrera GT or 918 Spyder.

Chairman Michael Leiters described the project as a mid-engined super sports car platform positioned above the 911, and a company statement said Porsche is planning, for the first time, a permanently available super sports car offer. Autocar reports the production car is expected to be built alongside the 911 in Zuffenhausen, with performance targeted between the 911 and the 918 Spyder.

A combustion answer to the Mission X

The Mission S arrives after Porsche scrapped the electric Mission X concept from 2023, which had been the earlier candidate for a model above the 911. Leiters has confirmed the new car will be offered only with internal combustion, not as a hybrid or battery-electric vehicle, and the company's media material refers to an engine rather than a motor. The underlying platform is being designed to accept pure-petrol, hybrid and plug-in hybrid drivetrains, but Leiters said there won't be an EV on it because there is no demand in the segment yet.

That is a clear reversal from the path Porsche mapped out when it launched the Taycan in 2020, and it follows slower-than-expected EV take-up, sales declines and profit slides through 2025 that have continued into 2026. The company now expects a roughly 2:1 split of combustion to electric models across its line-up in the medium term, with combustion dominating at the top end. The concept also lands alongside the Sportwagenschmiede '35 revitalisation plan outlined earlier this month, which pushes Porsche towards more premium, higher-revenue models.

Design under a new chief

The concept is the first public work of Tobias Sühlmann, who replaced long-time design boss Michael Mauer in February after stints at McLaren, Volkswagen, Bugatti, Aston Martin and Bentley. Sühlmann said the design was developed in just eight months, after Leiters called him with the idea for a car above the 911.

The styling leans heavily on Porsche history: torpedo front lights and rear sculpting drawn from the 911 GT1, a roofline inspired by the 959, a Carrera GT influence, telephone-dial wheels echoing the 928, and a large cooling fan above the engine bay modelled on the 917's. New cues include narrow split rear lights, while the show car wears specially developed shades of white and black chrome.

Inside and underneath

The cabin is stripped back and driver-focused, referencing the 550 Spyder and 356, with five round instruments including an analogue rev counter whose positions shift with the drive mode. There is no central touchscreen; instead a smartphone attaches to a retractable magsafe mount, and the seatbelt buckle fixes to the centre console.

Mechanically, Porsche has released no engine details. Autocar notes future Porsche models will use four-cylinder, V6, V8 and boxer engines, with a V8 or even a flat eight the likeliest fit for a mid-engined flagship, a layout hinted at by the extreme engine cover. Leiters also said the flexible platform is being developed in-house rather than borrowed from Lamborghini's mid-engined architecture.

Timing, price and Australia

Porsche has not announced when a production version will arrive, what it will cost, or whether it will be sold here by Porsche Cars Australia. The New York reveal location was chosen because the first images of the 550 Spyder, the brand's first mid-engined production model, were taken there in 1953.