"Never owned one, always entertained by 'em. Our world has grown poorer in the absence of rotary-powered sports cars. Sigh." So went the first comment by PHer Unsprung in response to our PH Heroes piece on the
Mazda RX-7
. Well sir, best get rattling that piggy bank because such a thing may yet return if Mazda's new RX-Vision concept is anything to go by.
Revealed earlier today at the Tokyo Motor Show the RX-Vision suggests a breathtaking return to form by Mazda, no doubt buoyed by the reception for its new MX-5 and the proof that sticking by your core beliefs against the prevailing winds can reap rewards. In the MX-5's case that's been demonstration that a new car need not be fatter, dulled and heavier than its 25-year-old predecessor. The Skyactiv engines that power it - and the rest of the Mazda range - meanwhile reject downsizing and turbos adopted wholesale by the rest of the industry while their diesel equivalents take a similarly contrary view to accepted wisdom.
Nobody quite believed Mazda when it said it would revive the rotary but in the RX-Vision we have the first evidence it's intending to do exactly that. Details are, admittedly, thin but the sleek-looking coupe is said to be powered by a new Skyactiv-R (for rotary, regular versions being G for gasoline and D for diesel) motor. Rotaries have their advocates and are blessed with smoothness and an appetite for revs a reciprocating engine can only dream of. Longevity, lack of torque and crippling CO2 emissions hang over Mazda's rotary cars like a cloud though, symbolised by the last to be equipped with such an engine, the RX-8.
How will Mazda overcome these problems this time around? It says sticking with rotary symbolises its 'challenger spirit' but it's not making life easy for itself. One answer may be to use the rotary as a generator for a range extender hybrid, something Audi has experimented with of late. In this application a rotary's smoothness, lack of weight and compactness are favourable attributes while the lack of torque is less of a problem. It would also give Mazda a chance to rival the new
hybrid Honda NSX
while maintaining a historical and technological link to past stars, like the RX-7.
Whatever's in store, the RX-Vision is a stunner and as a vehicle for reviving the rotary achieves the goal of making us sit up and take notice. More when we have it...