, it seemed that the concept wouldn’t just look like a rotary-engine […] "'Pin It")
Mazda Confirms New Rotary Engine, Doesn’t Quite Confirm New RX
Mazda has been teasing the unveiling of a new, mysterious sports car concept, which we and others pretty quickly said “that looks like an RX.” Then, as more details about other cars to appear in Mazda’s display came out (“look to the Cosmo Sport”), it seemed that the concept wouldn’t just look like a rotary-engine car, but would actually be rotary.
Now, while speaking to Autocar, Mazda head of research and development Kiyoshi Fujiwara has confirmed that the company has been working on a new generation of rotary engine, known as the SkyActiv-R.
Fujiwara said, “People think rotary can not meet modern Eco demands. The SkyActiv engineers worked on rotary and have it cutting edge tech. It is an essential part of our DNA and it just be passed onto future engineers. It is synonymous with the brand. Some time in the future it will return and be called SkyActiv-R.”
Mazda president and CEO Masamichi Kogai also added, about the Mazda exhibit at the Tokyo Motor Show, that “It is a two-door, two-seater. It is a pure sports car design. We have MX-5 and another icon is a rotary sports car. We haven’t talked about market reach but this would be in that segment.”
These comments are coupled with the continued Kogai-confirmed existence of a rotary-focused engineering team, despite the pulling of the last rotary-engine vehicle back in 2012.
This is all frustratingly vague. These comments could point to a new RX, but it is by no means confirmation. We will simply have to wait for the reveal tonight.
Photo: ~dgies
News Source: Autocar
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