The timing all seems right; now it's up to Mazda to follow through.
Mazda has been teasing us about a new RX-7 for years, to the point where many of us are too skeptical to be strung along on these rumors anymore. Yes, 2017 marks the RX-7's 50th birthday, and yes, 2020 marks Mazda's 100th anniversary. It's true: these are times as good as any to revive a legend.
Mazda announced today that it will be showcasing a brand-new sports car concept at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month. There's a teaser photo of it, above, though it really doesn't provide much information. The low, flat beltline recalls that of the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86/Scion FR-S, which could possibly point to a front-engine rear-drive sports car.
The company claims to have attempted to keep as closely to its lineage as possible with this new design. Mazda's sports car history will also play an integral part of the design. While you could imagine these details to match that of an RX-7 successor, that could also be said of a new Miata MX-5. And Mazda has said no words about what sort of engine will be under the hood. Will it be a rotary? A SkyActiv? A SkyActiv Rotary? We just don't know.
Last month, Mazda stated that it was still working on developing the rotary engine to bring it up to par with piston engines. This was also exciting news, but since RX-7 revival rumors have always existed in the realm of the subjective, we're waiting for an actual car with an actual rotary engine before we get too excited about this one.
Source: Road and Track
