We really don’t know where Autocar is getting its information from, because all the recent reports on Mazda’s future use of rotary engines have been about the brand not going for them anymore, possibly using them only as range extenders.
The British publication, however, insists that while the official version of the story is that a sporty rotary-powered model is off the table, “privately, executives admit that the car and a new rotary engine are under development and that a launch date has been included in Mazda’s long-term product plan.”
They predict that this spiritual successor to the old RX-7 will arrive by the end of the 2016 fiscal year bearing a Wankel, along with four other new models. Regarding its name, it has neither been confirmed nor denied that this new car would be called RX-7.
What the report does point out with a high likelihood of materialization is the styling similarity between this purported new RX-7 and the smaller MX-5. However, the use of a naturally aspirated Wankel instead of a turbocharged one, in two years’ time seems unlikely; power output is estimated at below 300 hp.
Don’t take any of the above for granted, but in case it does hold true, it does sound like a car worth looking forward to.
By Andrei Nedelea
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