Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Mazda RX-8.

You've got to hand it to Mazda for its perseverance with the Wankel rotary engine design. Ever since it's engineers managed to make it semi-reliable, the turbine-like smoothness of the quick-spinning lump has seen duty in numerous Mazda-branded vehicles, and even a few others as well. Still, despite constant engineering work and updates to the basic rotary engine design, there is a lingering question about the reliability of the design. Most owners seem happy with the engines in their RX, that is, until a seal blows or they forget to keep the oil supply topped up and it fails to restart. Or it floods in the winter, needing a tow. Alright... so there may be a few problems.

To ease the minds of RX-8 owners and owners-to-be, Mazda has reportedly decided to extend the warranty coverage for the 2004-2008 Renesis rotary engine for a period of eight years or 100,000 miles. Mazda even goes so far as to offer reimbursement to those who've spent money on engine repairs before 100,000 miles. This seems like a nice measure made in good faith on Mazda's part. After all, most educated owners of the rotary-powered cars knew what they were getting when these purchases were made, and the engine was already covered under the same basic warranty that comes standard with all Mazda vehicles. Nice work, Mazda.

In the interest of full disclosure, this particular blogger bought an RX-8 new in 2004, though it was sold two years later.


[Source: RX8Club.com]

Would you like some car with those wheels? This latest rendering of the anticipated Mazda RX-9 sports car comes from an enthusiast in Japan and was posted on the Ford fan forum FoMoCoNews.com.

Although the artist swears that it's close to the mark, the actual design, like the rendering featured on Winding Road, is expected to more faithfully portray the styling language previewed on the radical Furai concept. This illustration, meanwhile, appears to be more of an evolution of the current RX-8, but with enormous rims that would have to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 inches (which is farther than this thing would make it on public roads with those ground effects).

[Source: FoMoCoNews.com]

The mysterious images of a 2012 Mazda RX-9 that we brought you a few days ago appear to be illustrations cooked up by Winding Road magazine's in-house sketch artist Glenn Poblete, who literally drew on Mazda's current design language from the Kabura concept and other recent Mazda showstoppers to come up with a good guesstimate.

As for the heart of the beast, Winding Road figures on a front-engine/rear-drive layout with a limited-slip diff mated to either a rotary engine, in the grandest Mazda tradition, or ditching the Renesis for a more conventional V6 or V8. If Mazda decides to stick with the Wankel engine, it would have to improve on its gas and oil consumption, and it could benefit from a pair of variable turbochargers like in the latest Porsche 911 Turbo. Displacement on an updated Renesis, if chosen, could increase to 1.8-liters (if you consider the current version to displace 1.3-liters) or 3.5 (if you hold the current one at 2.6).

Like our compatriots, we hope Mazda sticks with a purely two-seat set-up instead of trying to squeeze tiny seats in the back, but the RX-9 could gain a suicide rear door to ease access if rear chairs are added. If that were the case, the RX-9 would effectively replace the quasi-four-door RX-8, which is anticipated for a facelift soon.

[Source: Winding Road]

Say what you will about the styling of the Mazda Taiki concept that's currently on display in Tokyo. It's quite possible that what's underneath is more interesting, anyway. Under the hood of the Taiki is a new gen rotary engine from Mazda called the 16X Renesis. Of course, the Rotary engine has its share of detractors, but Mazda's sticking with it anyway.

Further refining Felix Wankel's trochoid wonder, the Renesis (known internally as the 13B-MSP) has been massaged and enlarged for the first time in a very long time. Capacity is now 800cc per rotor, bringing total size up to 1.6 liters. Direct injection allows the 16X Renesis to put out more power and torque while running cleaner than a port injection setup would have allowed. Attention was also paid to reducing the oil consumption that Wankels are known for. The size of the engine is still pony-keg compact, and the rotor housing is now aluminum, which should save a little weight. While the new larger chamber design and direct injection offer more efficiency, it still remains to be seen whether or not the Rotary is capable of modern horsepower numbers without turbochargers (difficult with the side-port design) or swilling fuel like a sailor on shore leave. The 16X may show up in a special version of the current RX-8, or Mazda may hold off until a new RX-8 bows in 2011.

[Source: AutoWeek, Photo: Winding Road]

Click the image above for a high-res gallery of Mazda Taiki Concept.

Mazda's presence at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show later this month will revolve around the awkwardly titled "Sustainable Zoom-Zoom" theme that seeks to incorporate the brand's driver-oriented two-word pledge with a long-term environmental outlook. The cornerstone of the Mazda booth will be the Taiki concept, which follows in the tradition of the Nagare design theme that's graced shows across the world for the last two years.

The fourth installment in the series takes a considerable step away from its design predecessors' radical yet feasible philosophy, with a cab-backward design that evolves the aerodynamic wedge-on-wheels ethos above and beyond what we've seen with past concepts. The short overhangs and glass canopy are designer dreams, and Mazda asserts that the concept's exterior lines are inspired by wind flowing through a Hagoromo, the "flowing robes that enable a celestial maiden to fly."

Beyond the hyperbole, a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout bodes well for its enthusiast credentials, complete with power provided by the next-generation Renesis rotary engine.

The Taiki will join share the podium with the new Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid and the redesigned Atenza (Mazda6 to us).

Mazda's full press release is posted after the jump, and we've included a few shots of the Taiki in the gallery below.

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]