Mazda CEO Ruins the Holidays by Confirming Some Bad News
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 R&D 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]
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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In my opinion rotary is dead. In general terms they're too inefficient and have poor emissions.
"Mazda is still working on developing a rotary engine, but its unlikely to show up in a new sports car." Where is it going show up then? In a f***ing Mazda lawn mower?! They also never said it wouldn't show up in a sports car. Thanks for this click bait article, autoguide is trash!