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10 TOPCAR.CO.ZA|January 2016INSIDER.level. I hope we have enough strong voices to dictate thatwe do that with th is car.’The concept sits on a unique platform and carries itscompact ro tary motor low and tight against the frontbulkhead. At 4389mm by 1925mm and 1 160mm, thetwo-seat er comes in shor ter, wider and lower than a 991Porsch e 911. ‘The concept is on the larger si de, but theideal would be lightweigh t sports car with a very tautdesign,’ continues Maeda. ‘There are a number ofpotential materials, including carbon fibre and aluminium- Mazda has the technology to exploit aluminium. If youconsider the price and engine performance [R880k and239kW for the 3.4 S] then perhaps the Cayman is anappropriate comparison.’ It’s a sentiment echoed by r&d boss Kiyoshi Fujiwara. ‘Ifwe mass-produce this car then we would make it lighterthan a Cayman. We made the MX-5 a very light car. We’ddo the same with th is rotary.’ All of which bodes well for a production coupe (andconvertible) with th e RX-Vision’ s styling and the RX-name. Fujiwara: ‘In the past RX-7 was always a two-seat eror 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.’ Strengtheningthe case for a next-gen RX-7 was the reaction tothe car inTokyo: Mazda held sway over the kind of new-producthysteria normally reserved for a new iPhone. As for thetimescale, while a 2017 release would make for a neatanniversary launch – the original Cosmo ro tary debutedin 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 oiland merrily parping all sorts offilth from its exhausts, theWankel has caused Mazda nosmall amount of grief. It won LeMansfor them of course, and thethird-generation RX-7 FD isrightly regarded as one of Japan’sgreat sport cars but, as engineerFujiwara points out, th e ro tary’salso been challenging. ‘We havea solution now for the problemsbut we need to be su re it isdurable. We want to do two orthree times moretesting than wedo normally, beca use we havethis past ex perience of qu alityproblems and causing suchinconvenience to our customers.’Why bother, you wonder?While there are advantages inthe ro tary’s strong output for agiven size and weight, and thetype’s intrinsic smoothness, youget the feeling that, perhapscommendably, at Mazda heart isruling head.Maeda: ‘I owned one ofthe first RX-7s and a third-generation RX-7 FD, myfavourite. We feel that if wedrop the ro tary the technologywill disapp ear from the world.For that reason we have the mindset tocherish 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 raceversion makes a triump hant return to Le Mansin the 201824 Hours? Sounds like a future worth strivi ng for.Look, no creasesVast, organic flanksdesigner Maeda’sfavourite bit – ‘Much ofthis de sign is adaptablefor future products’.Good newsAdjustable aeroRear end dominatedby twin exhausts,adju stable rear wingand a prominentdiffuser promisingdownforce, but the bodywas shaped for stylefirst, aero secondMazda’s plantosavethe rotary>THEPROS:Powerful for agiven size, smoothandlightweight.>THE CONS:Sealing the rotor unit isnotoriously difficult– gases leakpast the rotortips, saddling the carwith dirty exhaust emissionsandpoorfuel economy.>THEFIX:Mazda’s developed itsowntechnologytobeabletoobserve the combustionprocesswithinthe engine, somethingmanufacturers havedone for years in ordertohone the conventional piston enginetonear-perfection. Mazdais feeding this informationinto computer analysistoyield improvementsin exhaust gas quality andfuel economy. It’salsoworkingon thoseall-important rotor seals,andseeking toboost torque– another rotaryweakness– throughignition timing.>THEOTHER OPTIONS:Hybridtechnologyhas previously been hailedasthe rotary’ssaviour(Audidabbled with the ideaon the 20 11 AE-tron concept) but Mazda’s Fujiwarasays,‘Weare not currently workingona hybrid rotary.’Turbocharging, asemployed on the FDRX-7 and20-inch wheels LeMans-winning 787B, is a safer bet.set those classicproportions offnicely – RX isonehand some Mazda