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There’s a place
for relics
I
IMAGINE IT MUSTbe hard to ‘steal the
show’ in 2015, especially at an event as charged
with energy andhype as theTokyo Motor Show
wherealternative fuel sources and autonomous
technology runs rife (and by itself), where pet
robots arerevealed and bodystyles are best measured
by howsharp they are. Ultimately, theTokyo Big Sight
(actual name) convention centre turns into aStarWars
set when TMS comes around, but updated withtechnology to putyour average
Pod Racer’sAlluvial Dampers (made up futuristicterm, all rightsreserved
LucasArts) toshame, withhybridised drivetrains and cars so good for the
environmentyou’d swear theywereactually planting trees themselves as they
drove by.
I assume that timing must be everything. Because in spite of, or perhaps
because of thetechnological onslaught, the car that trulyshone was in fact an
elegantsliver of crimson metal brandishing a completely driver-operatedrear-
wheel drive chassis, front-engined and manuallyshifted. In fact not onlywas it
fuelled by that crude fossil fuel named petroleum but its hardwarewas in facta
rotary engine, famously inefficient and glorious torev beyond 8000rpm. Mention
rotary andyou must be talkingabout Mazda, and it is indeed Mazda’s RX-Vision
concept that had every motoring journalist lusting after it. I managed to track
down Mazda’s head of engineering, Kiyoshi Fujiwara, and steal himaway into an
empty conference room for some mild interrogation around the production
model’s name, especially since half our colleagueswerecalling it the RX-9. ‘Well,
our previous two-door coupewas called the RX-7, and our four-door coupewas
called the RX-8, so I suppose ifwe built an SUV, thatwould be an RX-9’, said
Fujiwara-san. That’s confirmation as far as I’m concerned. Healso made it clear
that while the RX-7’s Nippon rivals such as theGT-R, NSX, LFA and so onwere
all impressive machines, Mazda’s RX-Visionwas the most faithful to its heritage.
Anotherreason it’ll be badged RX-7?Well, I just can’t ignore the fact that in 2017
Mazda will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the 967 Cosmo Sport 110S, the
company’s first ever rotary coupe andvery much the forebear of the RX-7. It’s like
I said 300 or sowords ago, timing is everything.
Outside of Japan, and back in the land ofTopCar
it has been an exciting month with South Africa’s
first roadtests of the newAudi RS3 andFord Figo.
The one’s a candidate for ultimate hot hatch and
the other is set toshakeup the entry-levelB
segment, I’ll letyou figure out which is which.
We’ve also identified the27 cars due to drop in
2016 thatwe’re most excitedabout. Andyes, that
includesall the self-driving, environment-rescuing
metalwe mentioned at the start. Exciting times
ahead my friend.CALVIN FISHER
Editor
Follow meon @Calvin_FisherSlipperier thananything
Anakin Skywalkerever got
to pilot,and thanks to its
rotaryengine, more unique
as well