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Mazda Says Iconic SP Electric Coupe May Go Into Production Soon
It seems very likely that Mazda will bring an electric-powered electric coupe with a rotary engine to market in the foreseeable future. Mazda is strongly hinting that the Iconic SP, which debuted in 2023, will lead to a production version.
In October 2023, Mazda launched a warmly received concept car into the world: the Iconic SP. The Mazda Iconic SP was a strikingly rounded-looking, voluptuous coupé with an electric drivetrain and a two-rotor rotary engine that functions as a range extender. We already suspected at the time that Mazda had serious plans for the show car, because a year earlier it had already presented a similar model, but then still called the Vision Study. What now turns out? The Iconic SP may go into production.
Masashi Nakayama, General Manager of Mazda’s Design Division, describes the Iconic SP as one of the highlights of his career, stating bluntly that “it was designed to release a production version soon. It’s more than a meaningless show car,” Nakayama says. “You drive a Mazda not just because of its looks, but also because Mazda is leading the way in sustainable technology. And with the Mazda Iconic SP at the helm, the future is yours for the taking,” Mazda reports in a letter in which Nakayama and Naohito Saga, Executive Officer of Mazda’s R&D Strategy Planning Division, review the Iconic SP.
The Iconic SP Concept has a 370 hp electric drivetrain and a relatively small battery, which is recharged by a two-rotor rotary engine. “The rotary engine is very strong for its size, but can also handle different types of fuel,” says Saga. Incidentally, Mazda already applies the concept of an EV with a rotary engine in the MX-30 R-EV.
