10 TOPCAR.CO.ZA|January 2016INSIDER.
level. I hope we have enough strong voices to dictate that
we do that with th is car.’
The concept sits on a unique platform and carries its
compact ro tary motor low and tight against the front
bulkhead. At 4389mm by 1925mm and 1 160mm, the
two-seat er comes in shor ter, wider and lower than a 991
Porsch e 911. ‘The concept is on the larger si de, but the
ideal would be lightweigh t sports car with a very taut
design,’ continues Maeda. ‘There are a number of
potential materials, including carbon fibre and aluminium- Mazda has the technology to exploit aluminium. If you
consider the price and engine performance [R880k and
239kW for the 3.4 S] then perhaps the Cayman is an
appropriate comparison.’
It’s a sentiment echoed by r&d boss Kiyoshi Fujiwara. ‘If
we mass-produce this car then we would make it lighter
than a Cayman. We made the MX-5 a very light car. We’d
do the same with th is rotary.’
All of which bodes well for a production coupe (and
convertible) with th e RX-Vision’ s styling and the RX-
name. Fujiwara: ‘In the past RX-7 was always a two-seat er
or a 2+2. RX-8 was a four-seate r. If we call it RX-9 – six-
seat er? You can imagine this car’s name.’ Strengthening
the case for a next-gen RX-7 was the reaction tothe car in
Tokyo: Mazda held sway over the kind of new-product
hysteria normally reserved for a new iPhone. As for the
timescale, while a 2017 release would make for a neat
anniversary launch – the original Cosmo ro tary debuted
in 1967 – Mazda will have its work cut out to get the car
ready. Alfa’s crack team may have
create d the new Giulia in two years
but they didn ’t have the ro tary engine
to contend with.
Fond of bu rning fuel, slurping oil
and merrily parping all sorts of
filth from its exhausts, the
Wankel has caused Mazda no
small amount of grief. It won Le
Mansfor them of course, and the
third-generation RX-7 FD is
rightly regarded as one of Japan’s
great sport cars but, as engineer
Fujiwara points out, th e ro tary’s
also been challenging. ‘We have
a solution now for the problems
but we need to be su re it is
durable. We want to do two or
three times moretesting than we
do normally, beca use we have
this past ex perience of qu ality
problems and causing such
inconvenience to our customers.’
Why bother, you wonder?
While there are advantages in
the ro tary’s strong output for a
given size and weight, and the
type’s intrinsic smoothness, you
get the feeling that, perhaps
commendably, at Mazda heart is
ruling head.
Maeda: ‘I owned one of
the first RX-7s and a third-
generation RX-7 FD, my
favourite. We feel that if we
drop the ro tary the technology
will disapp ear from the world.
For that reason we have the mindset to
cherish it. We would dearly like to race with it again too,
and if we do I’d like to be behind the wheel!’
The RX-Vision’ s beguiling form, weighing next to nothing,
badged RX-7 and howling onto our ro ads just as a race
version makes a triump hant return to Le Mansin the 2018
24 Hours? Sounds like a future worth strivi ng for.Look, no creases
Vast, organic flanks
designer Maeda’s
favourite bit – ‘Much of
this de sign is adaptable
for future products’.
Good newsAdjustable aero
Rear end dominated
by twin exhausts,
adju stable rear wing
and a prominent
diffuser promising
downforce, but the body
was shaped for style
first, aero secondMazda’s planto
savethe rotary
>THEPROS:Powerful for agiven size, smooth
andlightweight.
>THE CONS:Sealing the rotor unit is
notoriously difficult– gases leakpast the rotor
tips, saddling the carwith dirty exhaust emissions
andpoorfuel economy.
>THEFIX:Mazda’s developed itsown
technologytobeabletoobserve the combustion
processwithinthe engine, something
manufacturers havedone for years in order
tohone the conventional piston enginetonear-
perfection. Mazdais feeding this information
into computer analysistoyield improvements
in exhaust gas quality andfuel economy. It’s
alsoworkingon thoseall-important rotor seals,
andseeking toboost torque– another rotary
weakness– throughignition timing.
>THEOTHER OPTIONS:Hybridtechnology
has previously been hailedasthe rotary’s
saviour(Audidabbled with the ideaon the 20 11 A
E-tron concept) but Mazda’s Fujiwarasays,‘We
are not currently workingona hybrid rotary.’
Turbocharging, asemployed on the FDRX-7 and
20-inch wheels LeMans-winning 787B, is a safer bet.
set those classic
proportions off
nicely – RX isone
hand some Mazda