We’ve been ready ages for a brand new rotary-powered successor to the RX-7and after many years of hypothesis and quite a few false dawnswe would, would possibly simply be on the precipice of it truly occurring. In accordance with Motor Patternthe model new Wankel engine that can type the nucleus of the reborn sports activities automotive is “nearly technically full” and Hiroshima simply must construct a enterprise case for it.
Chief technical officer Ryuichi Umeshita mentioned the automotive, if inexperienced lit, will use a cleaner and extra highly effective model of the 8C engine discovered within the range-extended MX-30labored on by a devoted improvement group staffed by former RX-7 and RX-8 engineers. In contrast to the mill within the oddball suicide-doored crossover, the brand new energy plant might be compliant with US emissions rules.
In the meantime, chief monetary officer Jeff Guyton added that Mazda has now understood the brand new engine’s geometry and the way it works, and that it is going to be able to combusting hydrogen and different fuels in a bundle that’s light-weight, compact and highly effective.
model of the MX-30’s vary extender
The brand new automotive will take the type of the beautiful blood-red Iconic SP idea seen on the Japan Mobility Present in Tokyo again in 2023, and Mazda’s design boss Masashi Nakayama has already beforehand confirmed to Carscoops that the corporate has “actual intent to show it right into a manufacturing mannequin within the not-so-distant future.” Umeshita instructed Motor Pattern: “You may count on Iconic SP might be a great successor for RX-7.”
Envisaged as a part of the idea is a range-extended EV powertrain much like that of the MX-30, albeit with energy boosted to 370 PS; that is nonetheless on the playing cards for this new sports activities automotive. This implies an electrical motor will proceed to do the heavy lifting of powering the automotive and the rotary engine functioning solely as a generator.
An electrical automotive juiced by noisy Doritos is just not most individuals’s thought of a enjoyable and fascinating sports activities automotive, however the report goes on to state that “the sports activities automotive, conceptually, can be supplied with a second powertrain possibility: with the rotary engine as the first supply of propulsion.” This hints of a extra typical hybrid system with an precise transmission, extra suited to the duty of spirited driving. And a full EV is empathically not being deliberate, regardless of it being doable with such an underlying structure.
Umeshita wouldn’t be drawn into whether or not the brand new automotive can be referred to as the RX-7 or RX-9, solely saying that it’s going to not be a successor to an present mannequin and will both reuse an outdated nameplate or have a wholly new moniker. However “there may be little or no risk that we’ll title it Cosmo,” he added.
It’s additionally unclear when the brand new automotive will floor, however whereas Umeshita reiterated that the next-generation engine might be prepared quickly, it received’t be inside this calendar yr. It was initially rumoured that the automotive would floor subsequent yr, however Motor Pattern mentioned the precise launch timing can be reliant on Mazda truly constructing a viable enterprise case.
What we do know is that Mazda will produce its first devoted EV beginning in 2027; its present choices are both primarily based on an present combustion-engined platforms (MX-30) or merchandise from Chinese language companion Changan (6e and Non-60). It should utilise a brand-new structure that may accommodate plug-in hybrid, REEV and battery electrical powertrains, and it’s seemingly that that is what the brand new sports activities automotive may also be primarily based on.
The RX-7’s successor might be joined by the next-generation MX-5which is able to utilise Mazda’s cleaner Skyactiv-Z engines. In contrast to its bigger sibling, it received’t characteristic any electrification and can proceed to supply a handbook gearbox as an possibility, holding the method very a lot the identical as its forebears. Surprisingly, it’s the roadster that’s anticipated to come back later.
GALLERY: Mazda Iconic SP at Japan Mobility Present 2023
Trying to promote your automotive? Promote it with Automotive.
