New Mazda RX Vision concept

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by thill

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).

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.

[reni]

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.

[airjonny]

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.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by airjonny

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.

[airjonny]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

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 at 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

[Frost]

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.

[airjonny]

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

[zigzagz94]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

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 at all.

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

[STJ]

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

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

If it passes emissions on 2017 that means it can't burn oil...they'll need to sort out some ceramic seal magic to make that happen.

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.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by Moshpit37

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.

Couldn't Agree more!

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!

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

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.

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.

[Purdue FR-S]

Damn this is awesome!

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

[zigzagz94]

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. "