2012 Mazda RX-9 ???

[RRnold]

Originally Posted by White Shadow

All kidding aside, I always thought that generation still looks as good today as it did back in the early 90s. Other than the pop-up headlights, that body style looks very modern. How many other cars from 20 years ago can we say that about?

Originally Posted by bestwheelbase

@White Shadow - I agree completely. It can be said of very few cars.

I might be bias but I think most of the 90's Japanese cars looked timeless. Supra, RX7, NSX, 3000GT, Integra, 240, CRX, Civic hatchback, MR2...


Glad to the see the RX7 return but I agree with most folks with 2017 being a long time and a lot can change/improve in the next 5 yrs.

[ZetaVI]

The RX7 still looks relatively modern even til this day. 2017 is long time to go. Still, I hope to see some teaser pics, concept model, or something to get me excited once more for a classic back to life.

[Turbowned]

The FD3S RX-7 is, in my opinion, the sexiest car ever to come out of Japan. The NSX, SW20 MR2, and S30Z come close, but the RX-7 remains the best looking of them all.

[carbonBLUE]

Originally Posted by Sparkplug

As a former RX-8 owner, I'm calling this a load of BS. Firstly, this is way too far off in the future to really offer any kind of solid promise. Markets can change tremendously in that time, and the business model may no longer be viable. Secondly, the 16X has been around for a long time and Mazda has been unable to put it in a car due to fuel consumption. There's no doubt in my mind that this is still a very thirsty motor. Even if they have figured out all the reliability problems with Renesis (I had a second motor car), the rotary engine faces an enormous uphill battle from just the ever more stringent CAFE standards.

It's an enthusiasts car, first and foremost with an even smaller niche than the BRZ/FRS. I'm not sure if Mazda has the kind of money to gamble on a potential flop.

I do miss my rotary though, as I've never owned a car quite like it. I'm not sure if I'd own another, though.

people said that when I sat down and decided to get an FRS 5 years ago, If there is enough talk about it on the web, the car will come back... without the GIGANTIC rumor mill for the gt86/frs/brz It may not have even existed in the first place...

[finch1750]

Toyota has said it takes about 5 years from concept to production, so 2017 is about right (I know, different company, but has to be similar at least)

[jschendel]

I'm curious to see if it will end up being as timeless as the FD turned out to be.

[Rampage]

Originally Posted by bestwheelbase

Photo from the article:



Holy shit that looks rad.

Oh wait that's a car from 1991.

The love affair will never end.

They could style the car exactly like that except with horizontal headlights right above the driving lights and the car would look perfect. Even in 2017.

[bestwheelbase]

Originally Posted by Rampage

They could style the car exactly like that except with horizontal headlights right above the driving lights and the car would look perfect. Even in 2017.

That would be so incredibly badass. Essentially a big Mazda middle finger to the brands trying to pay tribute to old cars with "retro styling." Screw your retro styling - here's a modern take on our our RX7... an exact damn replica except with updated hardware.

The stuff dreams are made of.

[Natheria]

I would love an RX-7 copy with updated hardware and agree with everyone else that it is indeed timeless. It's most likely childhood nostalgia talking since i am a 90's kid but cars from the 90's, especially Japanese cars from the 90's are to this day my favorite cars from a design standpoint. They just do everything right and are from that perfect twilight era IMO when modern technological leaps were being made, but the safety/emission laws still hadn't gotten quite tight enough to hinder the styling and engineering.

[Turbowned]

It's really amazing to think that most of those cars began development in the late 80's, too. The FD3S RX-7 was first introduced in 1992, the NSX in 1990, MR2 SW20 in 1990, etc. They're all such a departure from the boxy 80'smobiles that people were used to.

[Razz]

Gas milage and torque has been improved in the 16x.

It's not marketable yet due to development work on electric motor to run the car at low speeds.

Then it passes emissions and gets beter overall gas milage.

So the 16x improves MPG by 2mpg +s, then add the electric motor and you should be in the same range as the twins for overall gas milage.

Except it will even be better as most gas is consumed around town. In this case the electric motor will be working.

[streetwaves]

I would be happy if they made the FD again, pop-ups and all. I dig pop-ups. I loved them on my 944 Turbo.

[Asterisked Accolade]

I'm surprised to hear it's going to land after the strict emissions laws kick in during 2015.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by Asterisked Accolade

I'm surprised to hear it's going to land after the strict emissions laws kick in during 2015.

It's not like the new emissions requirements are going to need some drastic change to meet, get the air/fuel ratio correct and the catalyst takes care of the rest. Put precats as close as possible to the exhaust ports to reduce HC on startup. Rotaries are still 4 stroke spark ignition engines, and the Renesis did fine with emissions in very recent years, where the emissions regulations are already extremely tough.