Mazda Is Once Again Edging Us With A Rotary-powered Rx-7 Revival That'll Never Happen

Mazda

Other than Full Self-Driving coming immoderate time now, beautiful overmuch thing successful nan automotive manufacture has been teased and speculated connected much than Mazda producing immoderate benignant of rotary-powered sports car. The Japanese automaker ne'er misses an opportunity to make headlines pinch this type of speculation, and, dammit, if I don't autumn for it each azygous time. Of course, attraction was kicked into precocious cogwheel erstwhile it introduced the Iconic SP conception backmost successful 2023 and said it was designed pinch accumulation successful mind. Well, we're rather a fewer years down nan roadworthy from that, and there's still nary accumulation Iconic SP, truthful Mazda decided it needed to stoke nan flames of rotary dream erstwhile again.

The automaker's merchandise readying supervisor for Europe, Moritz Oswald, precocious said pinch Auto Express and said nan task isn't dormant contempt nan truth that Mazda has turned beautiful overmuch each of its attraction to nan caller CX-5 crossover and a stronger electrification effort.

"If there's a feasible measurement to do that, past I'm judge if personification will do it, it's Mazda, because present nan enthusiasts still make things happen. I deliberation astatine nan infinitesimal nan MX-5 is still our halo car that stands for everything that Mazda products should," Oswald told Auto Express. Could location beryllium thing adjacent to it aliases above? Yes."

He added that location was a "deep desire" wrong Mazda to motorboat "emotional products" for illustration nan Iconic SP, truthful he says they're looking into it. However, freezing acold h2o was thrown connected nan flames erstwhile Oswald reminded everyone of nan truth that Mazda is simply a institution that "has to bring successful revenues." Do you cognize what astir apt isn't going to bring successful a batch of revenue? A rotary-powered two-door sports car.

Mazda

Oswald explained that nan institution likes to show disconnected conception vehicles for illustration nan Iconic SP to spot really they resonate pinch imaginable buyers — to spot if there's really a marketplace there. Thus far, it doesn't look for illustration there's rather capable of a marketplace to warrant putting it into production, contempt what Reddit will person you believe.

Hell, nan Iconic SP wasn't moreover nan past rotary-powered conception car we saw. At nan Tokyo Auto Show, Mazda pulled nan covers disconnected nan Vision X-Coupe concept — a rotary-powered plug-in hybrid four-door sedan point that, Mazda says, makes 503 horsepower. The institution didn't uncover excessively galore specifications connected nan car since, well, you know, it almost surely will ne'er beryllium built.

This really benignant of begs nan mobility of whether a rotary-powered sports car is moreover really basal for Mazda. The past car nan automaker built pinch a rotary was the short-lived RX-30 R-EV, and successful that application, it acted only arsenic a range-extending generator that could thief it spell astir 400 miles connected a vessel of gas. Other than that, we haven't seen a rotary since the RX-8 died aft nan 2012 exemplary year, and it's not for illustration anyone is clamoring for a rotary-powered Miata, either.

If you inquire me, it's conscionable astir clip for Mazda to return a dump aliases get disconnected nan pot, because this is each getting a small spot silly, no? The RX-7 was, undoubtedly, a cool car, but it's been 31 years since it near nan U.S. market. Perhaps we should each move on... aliases build nan damn car. I conscionable can't return this "will they, don't they" garbage anymore.