- Mazda suggests a hybrid rotary performance car “will become a reality” as soon as it beats technical hurdles like emissions compliance.
- Automaker revealed plans for one- and two-rotor engines at event confirming joint initiative with Subaru and Toyota.
- Last year’s Iconic SP concept featured a 365 hp electrified rotary powertrain.
Hybrids got a whole lot more interesting this week when Toyota, Subaru and Mazda announced they were working together to keep the combustion flame alive, but make it burn more cleanly. Ordinarily, that would be important but boring news – what made it interesting is that Mazda’s contribution is a pair of electrified rotary engines, one of which looks ready-made to slot into a brand new RX-7 hybrid.
Mazda even confirmed that the more performance-oriented two-rotor version, which was shown placed between two futuristic trackday tires in a traditional front-engined, rear-wheel drive layout, “is also being considered for use in sports cars,” according to a press document first noticed by Motor1.
Related: Mazda’s Iconic SP Concept Looks Amazing Out In The Open
That’s not the same as saying “we’re building a new RX-7 and it’ll be on sale in 2026,” but it’s the conclusion many people jumped to, particularly in the wake of Mazda revealing the Iconic SP concept at the Japan Mobility Show last year. And now, Mazda suggested to Carscoops that a rotary-powered project would hit the market as soon as some “technical hurdles” were overcome.
“We cannot comment on future product plans, but the Iconic SP is a concept car that expresses Mazda’s desire for people to experience the joy of driving in any era, with driving pleasure that conforms to the times,” a Mazda spokesperson told Carscoops.
“There are various issues that need to be addressed, including emissions compliance, before it can be marketed. We believe that the first priority is to clear the technical hurdles. Once that is done, various things will become a reality.”
Those final words really got us thinking: “various things will become a reality.” Mazda has said that both the Ionic SP and the engine were scaleable, so while the size of the concept had many people presuming that it previewed a new RX-7, maybe it points to the Miata’s future instead (there are clear styling similarities). Or maybe Mazda is working on both, though that would be ambitious given the shrinking market for sports cars.
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The 365 hp (370 PS) Iconic SP show car was equipped with a dual-rotor engine that could burn alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, and acted as a generator to power an unspecified number of electric motors. At this week’s joint-automaker announcement, Mazda, Toyota and Subaru all talked about making combustion engines cleaner by running them on carbon-neutral fuels.
So we don’t know for certain what Mazda has planned, but something great is definitely on the horizon. All the signs point in that direction and it’s clear that there are plenty of people who want it to happen, both inside and outside of Mazda.
Would you like to see Mazda turn the Iconic SP into a new Miata or a new RX-7? Drop a comment below and tell us.
