Bojan Vrbnjak
Mazda is the last sports car with Wankle engines produced in 2012, when it stopped producing the exclusive RX-8 Spirit R. However, the development team responsible for the rotary engine was disbanded only in 2018. Last year, the rotary engine returned to the model MX-30 as a range extender. But could there be more?
Katsuhiro Moro, Mazda's president and CEO, is on Tokyo Motor Show 2024 surprised everyone by announcing that he would February 1th established special group of engineers for the development of rotary engines. Before announcing this big news, he thanked the great feedback the company received after unveiling the stunning concept Iconic SP.
Mazda boss hinted that the high-performance coupe will indeed be realized: "I am very happy and deeply moved by all the support and encouragement I have received for the compact sports car concept. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone. With your encouragement, we will start a rotary engine development team on February 1st to get closer to this dream. To meet the challenges of the carbon-neutral era, rotary engine engineers who have acquired a broad technical view of various types of engines and state-of-the-art internal combustion engine technology and have been trained as users of model-based development will gather. It is not easy, but I hope we will take a step forward into a new chapter of insatiable challenges,”He says Moor.
To understand why we are so excited about this car, it is Katsuhiro Moro focused on the model in his speech Iconic SP. In particular, he talked about how the rotary engine acts as a generator instead of driving the wheels. During the press conference, some already known technical data were displayed on the screen: length 4.180mm, width 1.850 mm and height 1.150 mm, Wheelbase 2.590 mm and the unladen weight of the vehicle 1.450 kg. Responsible at Mazda it was described as a compact sports car with Wankle engines with two discs, power 272 kW (370 HP) and "first-class" capabilities. Iconic SP have even been compared to the Porsche 911.
Mazda Iconic SP Concept
A beautiful coupe it is big enough for two people and their luggage. We would drive home with “with a smile on his face"without"inconveniences” of an electric sports car that might thrill you. Chief designer Masashi Nakayama previously said that the concept "easily shrunk down to the size of a Miata", i.e. MX-5, which measures about four meters. We also know that he was Wankle engine developed to not only work on petrol, but also on hydrogen, biofuels and even liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
As for the name of the concept, it is Iconic SP deliberately vague name to avoid direct association with the two models MX-5 in RX, which are no longer produced for a long time. If it happens serial versions, it will probably not come on the market for years 2026, saj Mazda he is just now putting together a new team for Wankel engines. We also do not expect the following of the MX-5 model with an internal label NE before 2025.
