Rumours of a Mazda RX-8 successor are nothing new, but a new report suggests we might not see one unless it has a rotary engine under the hood.
Speaking with Automotive News, Mazda design chief Ikuo Maeda, the man behind the original RX-8, said he’s still pushing for a revival to the RX lineup ever since the RX-8 was discontinued in 2012.
“I will never give up,” Maeda said. “Inside my head, I’m always going over shapes.
Until now, Mazda stopped short on officially confirming a successor, Maeda himself said a SkyActiv powertrain under the hood wouldn’t do — despite their inherent efficiency and sportiness, any successor to the RX-8 needs to have a rotary engine.
Historically, R has referred to “rotary” in the RX nameplate. But despite the power and packaging, Mazda’s rotary engines haven’t exactly been good on gas and struggle to meet today’s emission standards.
Coupled with slow RX-8 sales and it’s even more difficult to make a case for a successor, especially since Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai says sales would have to approach the 100,000 units-per-year mark in order to be green-lit.
That doesn’t mean it’s a lost cause — since 2007, Mazda engineers have been working on improving its rotary engine even if the research and plans have recently taken a backseat. As tantilizing as a new Mazda RX sports car would be, Maeda still maintains it ave a SkyActiv powertrain.
“It’s possible to create a sports car using that powertrain,” he said. “If It’s SkyActiv, we would just have to do it in a different vehicle”
