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MRnewsBot
01-11-2014, 09:39 PM
Mazda RX-7 to return in 2016

The iconic Mazda two-seat coupé is set to be reborn in 2016, powered by a 250bhp rotary engine

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/19c681d39bxu7jpg/original.jpg

by Julian Rendell
11 January 2014

The Mazda RX-7 will be resurrected as a lightweight and agile two-seat coupé, powered by a new-generation 250bhp rotary engine, with a launch date of 2015 to 2016 already pencilled in.
The sporty coupé has yet to be signed off, but its rotary engine is under development and the project is being planned as a platform derivative of the new, lightweight MX-5, due in 2015.
Officially, Mazda’s line on the new RX-7 is “no concrete plans” but, privately, executives admit that the car and a new rotary engine are under development and that a launch date has been included in Mazda’s long-term product plan, publicised at the Tokyo show as ‘five new cars by the end of FY [financial year] 2016’.

The look of the RX-7 will follow the same simple design philosophy as the new MX-5. Mazda sources confirm that RX-7 work is going on in advanced design but the final shape has yet to be made into a production-ready form.
The work is being done under chief designer Ikuo Maeda, whose father was head of design at Mazda in the 1970s when the original RX-7 was created.
Maeda says he doesn’t “yet know what a new coupé should look like”. But he jokes: “I want it built before I retire!”
The RX-7’s new rotary engine is being planned as a normally aspirated unit. Mazda recently showed a new, compact 330cc single-chamber rotary engine at a Tokyo technical event that showcased a Mazda 2 EV with a rotary range extender.

Autocar understands that a production RX-7 would feature a conventional powertrain to keep costs down.
According to global marketing chief Masahiro Moro, finding the business case for a new coupé is already proving tricky. “I just don’t see the right numbers in the equation yet,” he said.
Despite this, Mazda continues to develop the rotary engine and Autocar understands that the RX-7 engine’s capacity will be a more conventional size, possibly about 600cc per rotor, slightly smaller than the RX-8’s 654cc-per-rotor unit.

It is undecided yet whether the new RX-7 engine will be a twin or triple-rotor, although one source suggests that a twin-rotor unit is most likely.
That would give the new RX-7 a capacity of 1.2 litres, equivalent to about 2.4 litres of swept capacity in a conventional combustion engine.
Power output, fuel efficiency and reliability are expected to be improved. Mazda engineers report that the latest tip-sealing tech — historically, a tricky detail to get right — is continuously improving.
That will allow tighter clearances between the rotor tip and housing, increasing the compression ratio, with a welcome improvement in thermal efficiency.
Sources suggest that the power will be below 300bhp and that about 250bhp might be expected. Given the potential rivals — such as the next-gen Toyota GT-86 and next-gen Nissan 370Z — the new RX-7 will have to deliver performance by blending a relatively low power output with a lightweight chassis.
The RX-7 will be helped by its lightweight rotary engine, which typically has a higher power density than in-line units.

source: http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/mazda-rx-7-return-2016

tsingson
01-11-2014, 09:41 PM
I thought they were doing away with the rotary for now?

Thumper13
01-11-2014, 09:45 PM
Sweet,I like it much better than the Speed 3, even for several ( 10 ) grand more. I could see a 3 rotor for Imsa Rolex/Tudor GT racing and the two rotor for Continental use. Two areas Mazda is really weak or absent in.

Phatmiata
01-11-2014, 09:47 PM
well, it does say they have the engine!! looks promising !!


I thought they were doing away with the rotary for now?


........... Mazda recently showed a new, compact 330cc single-chamber rotary engine at a Tokyo technical event that showcased a Mazda 2 EV with a rotary range extender..........

Hyper
01-11-2014, 10:23 PM
for this generation Rx-7 they are going to build a 3 rotor, watch!!

WASABI
01-11-2014, 10:28 PM
Looks damn good. Actually, that front would make a nice ND nose.

theothersawyer
01-11-2014, 10:50 PM
I agree, that wouldn't be a bad nose for the ND!!!

Dandy
01-13-2014, 10:03 AM
New Mazda boss: Rotary is a no-go
Automotive News

November 18, 2013 - 12:01 am ET -- UPDATED: 12/26/13 9:31 am ET - corrected

Read more: http://jalopnik.com/mazdas-new-ceo-has-no-plans-to-bring-the-rotary-engine-1467670527

Phatmiata
01-13-2014, 10:18 AM
Dandy, this story was released on the 11th of Jan, 2014, see the source link.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/mazda-rx-7-return-2016

Just let us dream will you please!! :bow:

Dandy
01-13-2014, 10:38 AM
Yeah, but Autonews interviewed the CEO in mid-November and updated the article at the end of December. If there was a mis-quote I think it would have been corrected by now. Somewhere in the bowels of the company there must be some R&D going on but I would be shocked if there was was a 2016 RX-7. I'm dreaming too but I am not hopeful that we will see anything soon. Anyone can blog these days, but I don't find this to be credible. Mazda itself will release a press release if this project is ever green lighted.