‘Insane’ Number Of Enthusiast Employees Want A Rotary Sports Car

There are only three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Mazda’s rotary engine aspirations. Although the MX-30 crossover with a rotary range-extending engine failed to catch on, the RX dream is still alive. A new sports car positioned above the Miata has been an on-again, off-again affair ever since the Iconic SP broke cover in October 2023. The gorgeous concept hasn’t been green-lighted for production, but a company higher-up isn’t completely shutting the door.

In an interview with Auto Express, Mazda Europe’s Project Manager and Supervisor for Product Planning kept the flame alive for an RX revival. Moritz Oswald said there’s an “insane” number of enthusiasts within the company who want a flagship sports car. The Zoom-Zoom brand is actively exploring a spiritual successor to the RX-7 or RX-8, but the decision ultimately hinges on financial feasibility.

‘The amount of car enthusiasts in this company is insane. Everybody loves cars, so of course there is a deep desire to keep on launching emotional products. So, are we looking into that? Yes, of course. But again, we are also a company that has to bring in revenues.’

Should the RX return one day, Mazda would do things differently compared to the Iconic SP. In both the concept and the unloved MX-30 R-EV, the rotary engine acts as a generator to charge a battery, which then powers electric motors for propulsion. A production RX, however, would have the rotary engine send power directly to the wheels.

Last year’s Vision X-Coupe also featured a rotary setup, this time in a plug-in hybrid configuration with a two-rotor engine. Mazda insists these concepts are more than mere teases, as the company is using them to gauge interest in a possible rotary comeback: “We want to see how it is resonating, what’s the feedback, to try and find out how big the opportunity is that we have there.”

Although Mazda has a dedicated team actively working on rotary engines and broad internal support for a new RX, Chief Technology Officer Ryuichi Umeshita recently pointed out the elephant in the room: “the only outstanding issue is financial.” If it does happen, it won’t come at the expense of the beloved Miata. The MX-5 will continue regardless of whether a larger, more expensive performance model joins the lineup.

Given that an RX revival hasn’t been approved yet, it’s unrealistic to expect a rotary sports car to go on sale before the end of the decade, if it happens at all. The dream is still alive, but for now, it remains just that: a dream.

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Motor1’s Take: Mazda is still a relatively small company, so it’s perfectly understandable that it isn’t rushing to approve a new RX for production. With the ND Miata now in its 11^th year, a fifth-generation model is likely due in the foreseeable future. Funding two low-volume enthusiast cars simultaneously doesn’t seem feasible at the moment.

We should see the glass half full and be glad Mazda has committed to another MX-5. It will retain the essentials: rear-wheel drive, a manual gearbox, lightweight construction, and possibly a bigger engine while staying naturally aspirated.