Mazda’s next sports car will have a rotary engine

Mazda Motor Corporation has announced the return of the engineering feat most associated with the company: the rotary engine. The new rotary engine, dubbed Skyactiv-R, will power the new sports car that will be unveiled as a concept at the Tokyo Motor Show on October 28.

Kiyoshi Fujiwara, Managing Executive Officer in charge of Research and Development, says that Mazda sees the rotary engine as being synonymous with the brand, and its return as a measure to strengthen the company’s image. Despite stringent fuel efficiency and emissions regulations that would have been obstacles to the return of the rotary, Mazda seems to have found a way to overcome those hurdles.

Mazda has produced several memorable sports cars powered by rotary engines, beginning with the Cosmo Sport in 1967, followed by the Familia coupe Rotary. The RX-7 debuted in 1978. In 1991, Mazda became the first, and until now the only, Japanese manufacturer to win the Le Mans 24 Hours race. The Mazda 787B was powered by a rotary engine. The four-door RX-8 was launched in 2003.

As for the styling, design chief Ikuo Maeda sees the as the opportunity to create a “beautiful and sexy front engine, rear-drive sports car.” In contrast to the soft curves and friendly image of the Mazda MX-5 roadster, the new rotary-powered sports car   will be “all business.” The new car will have a slightly different design direction that the current generation models. The mode will feature delicate Japanese aesthetic, and not the manga or comics-style design favored by certain other Japanese manufacturers. “It will be beautiful and with a sensual feel. It will be a dramatic sight to stir the emotions,” says Maeda.