It appears Mazda has no plans of building a sports car bigger than the current MX-5 Miata.
That means there’s a real good chance that for the time being, the Mazda RX-Vision concept won’t head to production as the RX-9, despite what has been reported in the past. Speaking to Automotive News, Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai simply answered, “No” when asked if the Japanese automaker has plans for a larger sports car entry. The question was a follow-up to whether Mazda would ever create an RX-8 sports car successor with a range extender, which Kogai replied: “I think that as a sports car option, the MX-5 1.5-liter or 2.0-liter conventional engine, with its power and acceleration, might be a more exhilarating experience.”
SEE ALSO: Mazda’s Vision of the Future is Rotary Powered
As for whether the rotary engine will live on, Kogai was a bit more cryptic and wouldn’t give a definitive answer. “But if we were to restart production of the rotary engine again, we need to make sure it wouldn’t be just short-lived,” he said. “We need it to meet future emissions regulations. We are still conducting our RD activity to overcome any issues we have with emissions and fuel efficiency.”
So the good news is, Mazda is still working on developing a rotary engine, but it’s unlikely to show up in a new sports car.
[Source: Automotive News]
Discuss this story on our Mazda Forum