2011 MAZDA RX-7
Behind closed doors, far from the public's eye, an anonymous source at Mazda revealed to one of our spies in Japan that there will be another rotary-engine car coming from the Hiroshima-based company. It's still early, but a team is being assembled as you read this to produce such a car. The basis for the future car — we have yet to confirm if it will be called the RX-7 — is the 16X rotary engine, unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show last year. The 16X is an all-new Wankel — an evolution of the Renesis 13B powerplant in the RX-8 — with a revised eccentric shaft designed to produce more low-end torque. While Mazda hasn't published horsepower figures yet, we hear it's in the neighborhood of 200–250 bhp.
Because of the increase in torque, there probably won't be a turbocharged version of the 16X, at least not in the beginning. But our source went on to say that Mazda is still experimenting with forced induction. So, our first glimpse of the 16X will not be in a pure high-performance sports car like the last RX-7, discontinued more than a decade ago in the U.S., but rather something along the lines of the original RX-7 — an affordable, user-friendly sports car that was nimble and fun to drive.
Does this mean that the RX-8's days are numbered? Probably so. It's hard to imagine a small company like Mazda with two rotary cars in its lineup. It's also hard to imagine such a company having two 2-seat sports cars unless its name happens to be Lamborghini or Lotus.
With the MX-5 firmly established in Mazda's lineup, the new rotary-powered car will most likely be a 2+2 with distinct sports-car styling. That it will be built on an extended MX-5 platform is a given, which means it will share the dimensions and proportions of the Kabura concept car. Expect upper-and-lower A-arm suspension systems at both ends, as well as a low curb weight, something south of the 3000-lb. mark.
The expected on-sale date of the new-generation rotary car is 2010 to 2011, according to our source. Price? It's still too early to say, but Mazda's aim is to bring it in under $30,000.
