Mazda Is Worried About How A New Rotary Sports Car Might Be Received

A new rotary-powered sports car from Mazda is one of the most talked-about topics in recent years, yet the car manufacturer still remains non-committal about such a model.

Speaking with Cars Guide at the Tokyo Motor Show, Mazda chief designer Ikuo Maeda admitted that it remains a dream for the car manufacturer to use its rotary technology in a new sports car, but is unsure how it would be received.

“I don’t know if we are having an RX-8 replacement, we have to see what the society thinks of that and what the environment is like in terms of accepting the idea of a sports car,” he said, indicating that Mazda could be seen as irresponsible for release a rotary-powered performance car in a world increasingly becoming focused on EVs and efficient hybrids”, Maeda commented.

Also Read: Mazda New Rotary Sports Car – A Dream That May Not Come True

“I understand that the clock is ticking and that the environment constantly changes, and we have to see if the current and future environment would be able to accept a sports car with open arms,” he added. “We understand that we are racing against time. But if the notion of driving a sports car causes people to think negatively about the pressure that is putting on the global environment, if having a sports car itself is seen as a negative thing, then we don’t want that.”

Although the future of a new Mazda sports car remains far from confirmed, Maeda said that in the more immediate future he would like to see a hot, MPS version of the sleek new Mazda3 hatchback, despite previous reports that the company doesn’t intend to make one.

“If you look at the range that we have in product currently, I think we can say the Mazda3 hatch is quite fitted or suited to that kind of sporty vehicle. Personally, I’d like to try to have a high-performance version of this vehicle, but I said personally, and when I say personally you always say Mazda would like to.”