Mazda's Rotary-Engined Sports Car Is Almost Ready
Many mainstream automakers are moving away from sports cars. But not Mazda, which seems set to offer two different models. We've already reported on the company's planning for what will become the fifth-generation Miata, but Mazda is also intent on putting the larger, rotary-engined model that was previewed by the 2023 Iconic SP concept car into production.
You didn't need to look too hard at the Iconic SP to see a viable car beneath its concept's sleek lines. 'I have to be very careful what I say here,' said Masashi Nakayama, the general manager at Mazda's design division, 'but we made sure that it will be feasible for production.'
Mazda has already put the rotary engine back into limited production, using a small single-rotor 830-cc version that produces a peak of 74 hp to act as a range-extender in the MX-30 R-EV, a model that isn't sold in the U.S. But the production version of the Iconic SP—which we're imagining would likely gain an RX name—is set to use a much more powerful twin-rotor version.
To no surprise, passing tougher global emissions standards—never a strength of the rotary engine—has been one of the biggest challenges faced by the engineering team.
'I decided to reopen the rotary engine development group and I gave a mission to them,' Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro told Road & Track, 'that was to comply with stringent emissions regulations like LEV IV in the U.S., and Euro 7. We know that rotary is not good at complying with emissions, that was the reason we decided to discontinue it in 2012. That is a very high hurdle they have to overcome, but in the last year the progress has been very encouraging.'
'Where we are is developing the technology to pass the U.S. regulation, and we have a very good forecast now, so we are almost ready,' chief technical officer, Ryuichi Umeshita, told R&T. 'The next challenge is... now you can support us in making a good business case. But technically, we are almost ready—if we see a good business case, we're ready to go.'
So if you love the idea of another rotary-engined Mazda sportscar, start lobbying.
Exactly how this new engine will be used remains an interesting question. In the Iconic SP, it was a range extender, recharging a battery pack on the move and giving a peak output of a claimed 365 hp. But Mazda could also potentially choose to use a more conventional hybrid layout, one that Umeshita hinted at when we spoke about the future Miata's continued use of a manual gearbox, suggesting the more potent sports car could get a quicker transmission and therefore, by implication, a mechanical connection between engine and wheels.
'If, let's say—and we haven't decided anything yet—if we do go to the super sports category, then [a gearbox] should be faster,' he said, 'then probably not a manual, but a more advanced transmission technology can be used.'
The Iconic SP concept also featured miniature pop-up headlight covers, inspired by the pop-ups used by some of the company's best-known sportscars including all four generations of the RX-7. Could something like this also make production?
'We can do it in terms of technology,' Nakayama said. 'For example, in the current MX-5, there is a deployable bonnet, the hood pops up [in the event of a crash]… but the question is regulation. Of course, if you could support us, we'd love to do it.'
So, once again, get lobbying.
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