Yes, I think they should build a car closer to the 206/246 Dino, that's less about maximum performance and more about real-world enjoyment of minimalist sports car ideals.

In terms of going fast and making numbers for people to gawk over, yes. But what's missing is the feeling of being in a small fun car.

For every 200k rotary, there are thousands of 500+k piston engines.
If you can't treat it with utter neglect and still get 150k+, it's not going to fly in the market, even if the fuel efficiency issue is "fixed" (not likely).

In 2017 all cars will have magnetic levitation. The internal combustion engine is dead!

You know this is in the Other Vehicles & General Automotive Discussions right?

good to hear that RX7 is coming back!
I would just wait and see what they can do about making RX7.

I was thinking about this today. If the updated RX7 hits the market in 2016 or 2017, that'll be great timing as a replacement for my current FR-S.

Hopefully it'll share the same lightweight driving feel of the FR-S, except with a reliable 9000 rpm, 300 hp rotary under the hood.

I agree. Rotaries are too expensive to maintain as well.

By the way your avatar scares me .

I'm just happy to hear Supra...RX7 again :bonk:

Two of my favorite japanese cars ever!

Nick C.

I read somewhere that they will have a rotary engine ready by 2016

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

Actually the engine will be ready for MY2015/16.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/16/m...all-new-model/

I think it will be turbo. The rx8 was an epic failure. I loved the rx7 I had. The rx8 didn't even deserve the badging. No way Mazda could jack up that bad again with a 4 door, non turbo crapper. Ill trade in the frs if the rx7 comes back :)

And no, rotaries are not expensive to maintain. You just change the oil and that's it. Reliability will always be an issue with 100k cause of the seals, but maintaince wise it's virtually bullet proof. I mean its only got 3 moving parts, 2 of which are rotors. My rx7 was solid for a good 35k before I sold it.

I have owned three RX-7's, and two of them went well over 100K miles with one just under 130K miles on the original engine. Just regular maintenance. I did not own the last one long enough to go over 100K miles, but I am sure it would have.

You really have to watch the oil levels in these cars, and many people who are lazy don't.

No one knows, Mazda refuses to try it. At this point in time, Mazda hasn't really committed to making a new RX-7 coupe or a RX-9 sedan. The rumor mill is just going crazy.

But I'm thinking that it'll be mid-ranging in the $30k range this time.

Mazda gave out money for that "advertising the wrong HP" fiasco. They also offered vehicle buyback. They initially derated the Renesis for 91 AKI in certain markets but advertised the full power rating. What changed after that was the SAE standard they used to measure BHP, changed.

I've heard 170-180WHP is common but I wouldn't put much weight on it. The ABS has a quirk where it detunes the engine if the front wheels are spinning when the back are. Then output seem to vary from engine to engine.

That rumor reeks of :bs:. For one the new rotary is being called Skyactiv-R. The 16x specs and promises are all old news.

Despite the new CEO of Mazda saying back in November 2013 that there are no plans for a rotary revival ( http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51692 )


New rumors out of the 2014 Tokyo Auto Salon are that a RX-7 is being worked on and could be released as early as late 2015. (I'm not holding my breath but would be cool if true)


http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/ne...-7-return-2016




"The Mazda RX-7 will be resurrected as a lightweight and agile two-seat coupé, powered by a new-generation 250bhp rotary engine, with a launch date of 2015 to 2016 already pencilled in.


The sporty coupé has yet to be signed off, but its rotary engine is under development and the project is being planned as a platform derivative of the new, lightweight MX-5, due in 2015.


Officially, Mazda’s line on the new RX-7 is “no concrete plans” but, privately, executives admit that the car and a new rotary engine are under development and that a launch date has been included in Mazda’s long-term product plan, publicised at the Tokyo show as ‘five new cars by the end of FY [financial year] 2016’."

Yeah...right....whatever. I could understand if Mazda is trying to stir it up, because all other companies are doing so.

But as far as 2015 release ? I doubt.

But if any later than 2015, Mazda will face their own demise.

So...

Hope that all these rumors will end up true this time. NSX is a given, Supra is a high probability, RX8 would be a good news.

Regardless if this is a direct competitor to the 86 or not, I believe the existence of the 86 and it's success is a direct contributor to this new RX-7's possible existence. And my purchase of an FR-S is partially responsible. And this makes me happy.

I will believe it when I see it. As much as I loved my old RX-7's I think Mazda should just ditch the rotary and make an RX-7 with a 1.6L direct injected twin scroll 4 cylinder. Make it like the old school RX-7's with two seats, very small and light, RWD, great handling, simple interior with basic amenities, etc, and undercut the twins on price ($23K). That is what the original RX-7 stood for. Super fun and light car that was really cheap. I know the rotary is part of the history of the car, but at this point rotaries just don't make sense based on the current economic conditions for Mazda.

So a hardtop turbo Miata. No way in hell they could undercut the twins with that package, current Miata starts at $23k and a new chassis and turbo engine won't up the cost at all? They could definitely compete though since it's an adaptation of their other technology, not a whole new boxer like Toyobaru.

Can't be an RX without a Rotary end of story.

I like the rumors, 250 horses and sub 3000 lbs is pretty much the car a lot of people seem to wish the 86 was. If it slots in around $30-$35k starting it'll give the 370Z and Mustang GT a run for their money. A new RX is probably the only car I would buy new in the future.

Edit: Agreed on 'I'll believe it when I see it', I'm optimistic for a 2017 car, reveal a concept in 2015, this seems to be in line with rumors that have been swirling around since they canned the RX8. If 2015 comes and goes without a showing they'll have to push back another cycle.

Even if there is no more rotary, Mazda really needs to do something with the Miata platform.... and by "something" I mean a fixed roof, longer wheelbase, and sexy lines.

...and maybe a turbo.

I wouldn't hold my breath on it. I'd expect the Miata to come out before the RX-7 and that seems like a lifetime away.

http://www.automobilemag.com/feature...-spied-252217/

The RX8 shared platforms with the Miata, with rumors of the Miata/Spider being unveiled this year and going into production next year it lines up with an RX based on the same platform coming out a few years afterwards.

You know, if the planets align and all.

That would be nice. Whenever this comes out, i hope that they can figure out a way to make the rotary reliable. I've read too many horror stories about the RX-7/8

Unless Mazda has finally made the rotary as less "diva" on maintenance compared to the piston engine, I really have no desire to own a car that needs me to feed oil into after a spirited run.

If you watched the Everyday Driver review of the RX7 and RX8, they had to feed oil into the car after every shoot. It's ridiculous! I wouldn't be able to drive the car to my potential cuz I would be too afraid to blow it (the car that is).

That being said, I want more competition to the Twins because it will force the evolution of a better product - that's a win in my books.

Lookin' at you next-gen MX5.

Nissan too. They need to bring back the Silvia and stop making deformed baby Muranos (Juke).

Yes, Mazda's claiming 5 new cars by the end of fiscal year 2016 (30 Sep 2016). It's no secret that one of those will be the new MX-5 which is due out in 2015. Rumors are the engineers were working on the RX project on their own. If they had been developing the RX successor on the next gen MX-5 platform it wouldn't be to difficult to come up with some coupe sheet metal and release the car a year later with a rotary heart transplant.


The real question is whether the next gen rotary will be ready in time and if they were able to reach the emissions/mpg goals.


Even then the engineers will have to convince the bean counters to green light the car which doesn't seem likely given the recent comments by the new CEO who seems more like an accountant than a zoom-zoom enthusiast.


But if it does happen I will be all over it cuz I miss my old FC Turbo II

I dream of the day when Isami Amemiya can get his hands on a new Rotary RX7!

Rotary motors inherently burn oil, that's the way they are built and designed. Oil is squirted at a specific time with the fuel to lubricate the seals and the rotor itself. They don't do it by accident, they have to do its just some of them burnt way more amount wise than the older ones.

Couldn't Agree more!:w00t::clap:

The more competitors the better, now all of a sudden we are seeing all these companies drop down these RWD front engine concepts because they realize there's still a market. It's almost like the "gearhead" part of the car industry is being revived to be affordable. It's solely due to the fact they see the success of a certain large japanese car manufacturer!

Not exactly, the current designs need oil since the apex seals and chambers are metal, which need lubrication. However even in piston engines, the piston skirts aren't really in hydrodynamic lubrication a lot of the time, and one can imagine that with the right materials it should be possible to build an engine that doesn't need oil in the bore. With some fancy low friction ceramic material you could possibly get a rotary that doesn't need oil at the apex seals. Now whether that's feasible in a car engine is a different story.

Damn this is awesome!

Though . . . I might rather spend $25k on a lightly used 93-95 :P

http://www.motoring.com.au/news/mazd...o-rotary-44652




Been a while since we had rumors of the next spinning triangle power plant but motoring.com.au is reporting possible twin scroll turbo rotary putting out 335kw (455hp) :


"Rotary diehards would, of course, remember that Mazda's first-ever rotary-powered production car, the Cosmo Sport, was launched in 1967, making 2017 the 50th anniversary of that event.

Earlier this year, the prototype for this new RX-7 was said to employ a naturally-aspirated rotary engine based on the 16X configuration. Using "laser ignition" that test mule was said to produce around 225kW. In less than six months, Mazda has decided to add a twin-scroll turbo setup, expanding power to some 335kW.

We'd also heard that, in the absence of a suitable rear-wheel drive platform, Mazda was using a reinforced version of the next MX-5's platform which could accommodate the suggested 225kW. But now, with over 335kW on the table, Mazda has ditched the MX-5 underpinnings and reverted to a significantly rebuilt RX-8 platform for its test mule.


Given that Mazda plans to celebrate the rotary-powered Cosmo Sport's birthday of May 1967 with the launch of a new RX-7, it stands to reason that we will see the all-new model in May 2017. "

A shortened, more powerful RX8 sounds amazing. It also sounds like the new MX-5 platform won't be as rigid as it should be if they dropped it...

What about a diesel rotory? Good emissions, and now they have to fix the apexi problem

One of the things holding the rotary back is the weight of the rotors, diesel would mean higher compression which means higher stress which means a beefed up engine which means heavier rotors and rotating mass, which means it would not rev as high as past gasoline examples. It may get enough torque to compensate for the lower redline but it's still a sacrifice worth noting.

Modern diesel isn't clean burning, they just have complex emissions control systems. One of the past problems with rotaries is that it is difficult to combust all of the fuel in the chamber meaning unburnt fuel in the exhaust (which is why you can find videos of rotaries shooting flames out the exhaust without even trying) which would put a huge tax on any emissions control system, let alone unburnt diesel fuel.

This is all contingent on you getting enough compression out of a rotary to make diesel cycle work which has been tough from my limited amount of reading.

Yeah...I mean who the F would want to put a hybrid system on a sports car! That's for hippies!

http://www.gtspirit.com/wp-content/g...rcuit-0060.jpg

http://www.autoweek.com/galleryimage...der-photos.jpg

http://www.gtspirit.com/wp-content/u...Ferrari-11.jpg

http://www.evo.co.uk/images/front_pi..._572449_25.jpg

Ok...Maybe he was just referring to all electric cars. Those are probably super lame to drive and not very fun.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_cRqcbXAs4"]850hp Electric Racing Car: Driving the Drayson B12/69EV -- /CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS - YouTube[/ame]

"Paul Drayson said he has no interest in internal combustion after this thing" - Chris Harris

Ok, off my soap box.

I'm excited to see what Mazda do. It sounds like the are ready to make up for all the downfalls of the RX-8.

It doesn't. You can get 10:1 practically, a bit over 11 with a completely flat rotor, which would cause all the charge to be concentrated around the apex seals which would be bad.

I think there is room for new engine designs, but the Wankel rotary is near its limit. It simply has too poor of a surface area to volume ratio.

Mazda says "No" to future RX.
 

Rumors had been swirling about an RX car to be shown in 2017 and put into production by 2020. Straight from the mouth of Mazda's CEO:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/autos...els/ar-AA7uOdn

The Skyactiv MX-5 will remain the company's only sports car.

F@ck you MAZDA!!!! I wanted to give you my money but I hate you so much right now.


You better at least give me a MX-5 coupe with the mazdaspeed3 engine to fill that niche.


And NO, an AWD Mazda 6 coupe is not a suitable alternative....

Sad, sad day...
http://www.imgstor.com/images/2014/06/19/doge.png