Mazda’s designer has said we can expect a production model featuring a rotang “in the not-so-distant future”. However, it’s a hybrid, with the rotary engine powering an electric motor.
Harking back to the third-generation FD Mazda RX-7 of the 1990s, the Iconic SP concept stunned the automotive world last year. Now Mazda is saying its legendary sports car is set for a rerun. Well, kind of.
Masashi Nakayama, General Manager of Mazda’s design division, said of the Iconic SP concept, “This is not just one of those empty show cars. It’s been designed with real intent to turn it into a production model in the not-so-distant future.”
Naohito Saga, Executive Officer of Mazda R&D added, “Standing by the car, you should be able to picture what sort of engine would be housed under the bonnet”. Read:rotary, only it won’t be under the bonnet but more likely centrally mounted.
Over three generations and 24 years, the RX-7 used a rotary engine and it became synonymous with the powertrain (lots of revs and oil consumption, not much torque).
After using rotary power in the RX-8 sports car in the 2000s, ending in 2012, Mazda brought back the rotary engine on its MX-30 R-EV. However, in that car a tiny single rotor engine is used to power the electric motor as a range-extender.
The Mazda Iconic SP show car has two rotors, but also comes with an electric powertrain. This set-up Mazda says is ideal for sports car packages. It claims the rotary engine will be able to burn a multitude of fuels, including synthetics, biofuels and even hydrogen. Mazda says that the concept’s powertrain has the potential to cut emissions by 90 per cent compared with ICE equivalents. The firm says it should be the quickest of any model it has ever made.
Power output for the Iconic SP is a claimed 276kW, around 75kW more than the final edition of the RX-7.
The Iconic SP design reminds of the RX-7, as it should. However, it also mirrors the Mazda Vision Study Model concept of 2022. At the 2023 Tokyo Motor Show, Mazda President and CEO, Masahiro Moro said: “We are determined in the age of electrification to keep the joy of driving…and the Mazda Iconic SP, with its dual rotary power generator EV powertrain, is our dream solution.” It is supposedly a concept for an electrified MX-5 rather than the rebirth of the RX line. Despite that, the Iconic SP (4.2m long, 1.9m wide and 1.2m tall) is physically close to the last RX-7.
Mazda says the Iconic SP weighs 1450kg, 100kg more than the FD RX-7. However, it undercuts the latest BMW M2 by almost 300kg.
The SP closely resembles the Vision Study Model concept, aside from new headlights. Its coupe profile, low bonnet, smooth surfacing, curved side window and overall proportions all remind of the FD RX-7 too.
The interior reveals a gear selector for an automatic transmission, and a touchscreen in the middle of the dash with readouts on regenerative braking, launch control, adaptive cruise, active aerodynamics and G-force vectoring control. There’s also a 360-degree camera. And there are shift paddles for adjusting brake regeneration.
The path to production is not quite there yet. Mazda says there are still some technical issues, like how to deal with the rotary’s emissions.
Mazda has initiated a $NZ19b electrification initiative, planning new hybrid and pure-electric models for introduction by 2027. It plans to electrify all of its cars from 2028.
