Report: New Mazda rotary concept to debut at Tokyo Motor Show

Back in 2015, Mazda introduced the RX Vision, a concept car that would bring back Mazda's famed rotary engine. Since its introduction, reports regarding the RX Vision's fate have been unclear and whether it will still see production. Mazda themselves have gone a bit quiet about a successor to Mazda's rotary sports car.

However, a report by Auto Express says that a successor to the RX-7 and the RX-8 is reported to take the stand once again at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. Auto Express spoke to Mazda’s Vice President for R&D in Europe, Matsuhiro Tanaka, who says that the automaker will be debuting a new rotary concept in Tokyo to show that things are back on track. The new design concept is said to be an evolution of the previous RX Vision which debuted in 2015. Furthermore, he has confirmed that Mazda is still trying to turn the concept into a reality.

“When we introduce a concept our intention from the engineering and design community is to make it a reality. What I will say is that we are making the utmost efforts to try and make this a possibility,” Tanaka told Auto Express

With regards to its engine, Mazda's previous rotary engine is known for having average fuel economy at best. One might assume that the new rotary engine will have some sort of electrification to improve range, but that is not the case as told by Kiyoshi Fujiwara, Mazda's head of R&D who spoke to Auto Express.

"I would like to introduce the new rotary engine without electrification because I think that is what the rotary engine fans will want," Fujiwara said.

However, that would also present a hurdle as most of Mazda's upcoming internal combustion engines, such as the Skyactiv-X will have some form of electrification to meet strict emissions requirements. This would then force the rotary powered vehicle to embrace electrifaction in order to produced.

Whatever the case, expect Mazda's new rotary powered sports car to take more time before a production model is produced. For now, we can only wait until the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show to see what the Hiroshima based automaker has in store.

Source: Auto Express