Road & Track rumormill: Mazda RX-7 development underway
When the newest issue of Road & Track arrived in our mailbox, we were impressed that the 60th anniversary issue was sport compactalicious. The cover sports the new Mitsubishi EVO X alongside a photochopped '08 Impreza STI, and the inevitable shootout consists of the Civic Si, MazdaSpeed3, MINI Cooper S, Sentra SE-R Spec V and the VW GTI.
What was more interesting was one of the subtitles proclaiming that a new RX-7 is in the works by Mazda and that Toyota is (finally) beginning to develop an honest-to-God sports car based off the Lexus IS platform.
As for the RX-7, R&T's inside sources say that due to slowing sales of the RX-8, the engineers at Mazda are hard at work improving the 13B rotary's output. If (when?) the new RX-7 debuts, it will be powered by this new and improved Renesis, supposedly sporting an electrically assisted supercharger, much like the one found on the RX-8 Hybrid that debuted in Tokyo in 2003.
Additionally, the rumored RX-7 will grab styling cues from the Kabura concept (pictured) that was unveiled at Detroit in 2006 and will be built on the platform that underpins the MX-5/RX-8. Whether or not the next gen. 7 will come in a 2+2 configuration remains to be seen, but regardless, don't expect anything until the end of the decade.
[Source: Road & Track]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
mk 12:03PM (4/30/2007)
I just wish they would build the kabura itself as a 3+1 seater coupe alternative to the Miata, even with a turbocharged piston engine.
The RX7 is going to be a really small target to hit. They will either do it really big, or fail.
Kinda like the GTO, the RX7 name carries some weighty baggage. Any car that bears that name needs to fill the role.
if it doesn't it won't sell as well as it otherwise could, object lesson, again, the GTO.
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Will 12:04PM (4/30/2007)
Come -on-, mazda. Why can't you use a normal engine and then make it in a decent price range and not have to recall a whole bunch of engines? I was really hoping for a turbocharged direct-injected miata drivetrain in a light RWD coupe under 20k. Or close to it, at least. sheesh.
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bmoredlj 12:05PM (4/30/2007)
The RX-8 was a gorgeous car from almost every angle, but its profile was horribly scarred by the seams of those stupid suicide doors. They give an otherwise attractive vehicle a tacked-on and clunky appearance that punishes the eyes. Both the RX-8 and Saturn Ion coupe would have been infinitely more attractive if they had lacked such doors. Yes, they're practical, and yes, they make backseat access much easier, but if you consciously slap a second set of doors on a coupe, you're missing the point of a coupe: to be stylish from every angle. Sometimes to be good-looking, a vehicle has to be hard to get into...it happens, but it's a small price to pay. It is my sincere hope that the next RX - arguably Mazda's flagship, not receive these silly doors next time around. You can't have your coupe cake and eat it too.
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John 12:16PM (4/30/2007)
I'm with the others.
Give me a RX chassis with the Mazdaspeed3 or Mazdaspeed6 engine and I'll buy it in a heartbeat. That or the Kabura concept.
I like the looks, I like Mazda (have a Mazda3 in the stable), but will NOT buy a car with a rotary engine.
I guess I'll have to continue to look elsewhere for my sport coupe fix...
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nastinupe 12:19PM (4/30/2007)
I just hope that Mazda doesn't under power this car. If they don't give it at least 300 hp and a 0-60 time of no greater than 5.2 seconds then they might as well forget about it.
Mazda doesn't need another under powered sports car. That's what the Miata is for. This car needs to be a Z killer.
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Will 12:29PM (4/30/2007)
BTW, the RX-7 plate should be a higher-end super fast sports car, I was just hoping for an RX-5 or something, a miata hardtop doesn't cut it. but i guess that's too much to hope for, cause all that cost involved would be prohibitive to making a new model that could tap into a whole new market and dominate sales for a few years or so...
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Will 12:30PM (4/30/2007)
In response to Will (ironically, my name too) and John:
The RX-7 is a rotary sports car. It has always been a rotary sports car and any car carrying that name without a Wankel will bring screeches of "Sacrilege!" from the Mazda faithful. A niche sports car needs that kind of cult following to be a market success. Conventional piston engines have been constantly redeveloped and redefined over a century, whereas Mazda has been the only company with the stones to buck the trend and pursue the rotary concept- and enthusiasts respect that.
Call it underpowered or unreliable, but the Renesis has proven that concept to be commercially viable. With more development and the lessons learned from the RX-8, I'm confident Mazda can build a true world-beating RX-7 with the Renesis as its heart. And I'm sure it'll be a real two-door coupe, about the size of the Kabura and following its design language.
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P to the C 12:40PM (4/30/2007)
Wow, that's is truly ugly. I think Mazda has been hiring too many graduates of the Hot Wheels School of Design.
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Steve 1:06PM (4/30/2007)
If Mazda can improve the fuel economy with DI and up the HP with an electric supercharger while reducing weight by 200lbs the RX7 will be a great driver's car.
Anything but a two-seater will canabilize RX8 sales even further. Unless its a glorified 2+2 like many coupes.
This should also be the top notch starting at 30+k so they have some room to use more aluminium or even come carbon fiber panels.
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Todd 1:15PM (4/30/2007)
The old R100 had a tiny single rotor Wankel. Why not the car pictured in this post with 5 of the R100 engines?
One to individually power ( pump gasoline )each wheel and the fifth to power a generator, similar to GM's Volt.
Use the generator when just cruising the freeway, and the in wheel engines all kick in when to wanna go fast!
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Chet 1:23PM (4/30/2007)
Put a tweaked Renesis in an MX5 chassis that's stretched a couple of inches, and give it the elegant sporting coupe body that defines the next look of Mazda. The Kabura concept might appeal to the youngsters as a $20,000 funster, but for a $30,000 sports coupe to be purchased by adults, the look needs to be less funky.
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Rocket Punch 1:33PM (4/30/2007)
Rotary is overrated, for a passenger car at least.
As marketing "tool" its getting old anyway. I say drop the rotary, use a conventional engine to cut cost, make it easier to maintain, more efficient and add reliability and mileage to the car. Use the saved money from dropping the rotary and add some maintenance free parts and design to improve the cars performance.
People who owns rotary and say they are the 1337 are the same people who uses hair conditioner as shampoo and keep telling others it works well as a shampoo. GET REAL.
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XUrotaryrocket 12:49PM (6/23/2007)
So, I buy a Mazda RX-8 on 8-6-03. I procede to put 96,372 miles on it by 3-17-07. I did not spend a dime on this car aside from regular maintenance and a minor fender-bender repair. No problems - whatsoever. And, I drove the s--t out of it. Anyone bitching and moaning about engine issues does not know how to properly maintain a rotary.
Frank 1:53PM (4/30/2007)
Todd, the R100 had a two-rotor. No production Mazda has ever had a single-rotor.
Rocket punch, you are right, the rotary is overrated for a multi-passenger vehicle. But it is perfect for a super-light corner-carver.
And you, like most other uninformed people, get the reliability completely wrong. The Mazda rotary is *highly* reliable when normally-aspirated. More reliable than a piston engine. The thing you forget is that all the RACING rotaries use stock internals, because there aren't *any* aftermarket internals available! The current points-leading three-rotor RX-8 from SpeedSource is using STOCK engine components, except for the eccentric shaft, which is two STOCK eccentrics welded together...
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Dude 1:56PM (4/30/2007)
Are you serious? How many times has R&T announced the return of the Supra? If I only had a nickel for every time Sam Mitani projected the return of any Japanese sporty car... RX-7? Riiiiggghhhttt.
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Stephen 1:57PM (4/30/2007)
I love rotary engines, but the mpg and price of the RX-8 pushed me toward a GTI when I recently bought a new car. I'm getting tired of every car company making 30k coupes, I hope Mazda doesn't do the same with the Kabura/RX-7/whatever. My GTI is plenty fast, there's no need to get involved in any horsepower war. It's unnecessary and reduces mpg. My GTI cost 22k, get rid of the rear seats, extra speakers, etc. and a small 2-seat coupe shouldn't have to cost or weigh more.
As far as the comments about how a new RX-7 needs to have this much hp and be this fast to live up to it's name: these people need a history lesson. Only the 3rd gen RX-7 was an all-out performance car. The previous 2 generations were simple, small, fun-to-drive sports cars that succeeded not because they were faster than everything else, but because they were fun and cheap. Remember, that the all-out 3rd gen didn't sell very well.
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Brett 1:59PM (4/30/2007)
This is great news! To answer a few comments: The R in "RX" stands for rotary, that won't change, so don't bother discussing it. If you don't want a rotary, don't buy one. A normally aspirated rotary is never going to be a high torque monster, so its not going to be powering a muscle car type heavy vehicle, and by heavy, I mean greater than 3000lbs. High performance normally aspirated rotaries rev too high for common automatics to handle, so all the automatic models end up handicapped by a rev limiter. More revs equal more power in a rotary, so automatics are basically worthless. I don't really understand why everyone thinks that the RX-7 should be mazda's expensive flagship vehicle. The original 7 is well known for its bang for the buck and is still wildly popular in racing. 2nd gen 7s were a little more upmarket, with 3rd gen 7s even more so. They're all great cars, but the 1rst gen was probably the biggest sales hit. The upscale 2 door sports coupe market is pretty small, and when you have to derate your automatics (which we americans just love...barf), getting back to the 1rst gen roots and going for bang for the buck may be the way to go.
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Aetius 2:13PM (4/30/2007)
I agree -
1) The whole point of RX is rotary. This is one of Mazda's USPs.
2) The RX-8 doesn't have to be THE flagship sports-car for the brand either. When the Kabura was introduced they said that whatever car came from the concept would be an affordable sports car. The RX-8 (refresed or next-gen) can be the flagship
3) I also predict Mazda ultimately building an even more capable sports car someday in the future. The company is bringing in a lot of $ and recognition through the its current cars and SUVs and these can fund the R&D required.
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jj 3:30PM (4/30/2007)
For the love of gawd, make one that ISNT SLOW like the rx8 and DOESNT CATCH FIRE like the old rx7.
Then I buy one. Performance + not junk = I want it. Simple.
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Frank 3:54PM (4/30/2007)
jj,
I don't know what you are smoking, but the RX-8 *is* FAST. It's not /quick/. But if you want quick, go get a Mustank. The RX-8 is faster and quicker than ANY RX-7 with the exception of the third-gen. It can also out-handle and previous generation RX-7. THAT SAID, Mazda made it CRYSTAL CLEAR is was *NOT* a replacement for the RX-7...
The RX-series is NOT about beating punks to the next stoplight, they are about leaving them in the bushes on the highway on-ramp, and giving all kinds of super-high-dollar machinery a good scare on the race track. Until you take the Climbing Esses at VIR breathing down the neck of an $80,000 Porsche, you don't understand what the RX's are about.
The 3rd gen, while stupendous, was a mistake for Mazda that nearly killed them and the RX's for good. They need to go back to the basics of the first-gen: Cheap, fun, driver's car, reliable, beautiful.
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