A little over a year ago, Mazda unveiled the RX-Vision concept, sparking speculation that it would revive the rotary and plonk it in a large sports car.
Indeed, rumours suggested that an RX-9 would be launched by 2020, effectively serving as a long-overdue successor to the RX-7 and RX-8 coupes.
But now CEO Masamichi Kogai has poured cold water on that theory.
As part of a wide-ranging interview, Automotive News asked the 62-year-old whether Mazda would “ever create an RX-8 sports car successor with a range extender”.
“I think that as a sports car option, the MX-5 1,5-litre or 2,0-litre conventional engine, with its power and acceleration, might be a more exhilarating experience,” Kogai said through an interpreter.
Asked whether Mazda had “plans for a larger sports car entry”, he replied simply: “No”.
The CEO did, however, confirm that the Japanese automaker was still conducting research and development around the rotary engine.
“We ended production of the RX-8 with the rotary engine. 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,” Kogai said.
Judging by the CEO’s answers in the Automotive News interview, any new rotary engine would likely first be used as a range-extender in an electric vehicle before potentially being employed as a “main traction rotary”.
