Mazda's Iconic SP is One Step Closer to Reality
In a Road & Track article published on April 15, 2025, Mazda's design chief spoke carefully but frankly: the Iconic SP is almost ready. "I have to be very careful what I say here, but we made sure that it will be feasible for production. We know that rotary is not good at complying with emissions, which was the reason we decided to discontinue it in 2012," he said. "That is a very high hurdle they have to overcome, but in the last year, the progress has been very encouraging".
When the concept was first revealed, it was rumored to use a range-extending twin-rotor setup, making 365 hp. Since then, Mazda has been dabbling in new rotary developments with the single-rotor 830-cc range-extending motor used in the MX-30 R-EV. While the automaker has yet to confirm what kind of rotary engine the Iconic SP will use, making it compliant with emissions regulations like LEV IV in the U.S. and Euro 7 required reviving Mazda's rotary development 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."
Mazda's chief technical officer, Ryuichi Umeshita, also clarified that if the Iconic SP were to have a high-output setup, a manual transmission wouldn't cut it. We expect to see some kind of fast-shifting automatic with steering wheel paddles used, unless the model uses a fully electric drivetrain.
Oh, and remember those pop-up headlights? "We can do it in terms of technology," design chief 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."
That last part is what it ultimately boils down to. Mazda needs to know that people will buy the Iconic SP if it ends up hitting the market. "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," Umeshita said. Is the market ready for another rotary Mazda with the evolution of pop-up headlights? We sure hope so.
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