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Mazda’s Rotary-Engine Sports Car Faces An Uncertain Future
Despite sending strong signals about the launch of a new rotary-engine sports car, Mazda is no longer certain that the RX will return.
In an interview with the UK’s Autocar, Chief Technology Officer Ryuichi Umeshita admitted that there are obstacles to financing the Iconic SP project, saying that “the only unresolved issue is finance.”
Since the concept was revealed at the Japan Motor Show in October 2023, Mazda has once again brought its dedicated rotary engine engineering team to bear. We’ve already seen some of their work in the Vision X-Coupe, whose rotary engine is part of a plug-in hybrid system that produces over 500 horsepower.
Umešita admits that the Iconic SP is his “dream car,” adding that he wants to make it a reality one day. While the project hasn’t been cancelled, the financial hurdles mentioned by Mazda’s technical director suggest that a production version is still a considerable distance away. Even with approval, bringing such a car to market would take time.
This would be an entirely new model built on a custom platform, likely with no connection to the smaller Miata. Mazda has already said that such a model would be sold alongside the MX-5 and serve as “a good successor to the RX-7,” according to Umeshima. While the concept’s rotary engine acted solely as a generator to charge the battery, the technical director didn’t rule out the possibility of the internal combustion engine directly driving the wheels.
Mazda’s “Lean Asset” strategy, announced earlier this year, calls for drastic cost-cutting measures in EV investments. A dedicated electric vehicle platform is still planned for 2027, when the first model is expected to debut. A new Skyactiv-Z engine is also in development. We can conclude that Mazda has higher priorities for now, but Umeshita remains optimistic: “I would never say we have given up on it.”
Finally, a new Miata is coming, with a bigger engine and manual transmission, and it may even be lighter.
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