Mazda Kills RX-9 And Relegates Rotary Power To Hybrids

Sadly, the recent hope we had for a rotary-powered successor to the RX-8 has been smashed to bits. Mazda's CEO has confirmed that both the large sports car and the rotary sports car engine are dead

Matt Kimberley

06 Dec 2016

Mazda Kills RX-9 And Relegates Rotary Power To Hybrids

Life is just not fair sometimes. Mazda’s stunning RX Vision concept had hinted – strongly – that a future rotary-powered RX coupé was in the pipeline, but sadly the idea has been canned for good.

In an interview with Automotive News, Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai squashed the idea of any sort of RX-sized coupé. A simple and possibly slightly impatient “no” greeted Automotive News’ reporter when he asked the question.

Although Kogai-san hasn’t ruled out the idea of rotary making a comeback, he does have bad news for sports car enthusiasts. He said: “I think that as a sports car option, the MX-5 1.5-liter or 2.0-liter conventional engine, with its power and acceleration, might be a more exhilarating experience.

We can point him to at least two online communities that might disagree, but hey. Rotary is in the R&D chain as we sit here right now, but is set to be limited to range-extender technology, where a small, high-revving rotor might be a perfect electricity-generating companion for batteries and electric motors.

“If we were to restart production of the rotary engine again, we need to make sure it wouldn’t be just short-lived,” Kogai said. “We need it to meet future emissions regulations. We are still conducting our r&d activity to overcome any issues we have with emissions and fuel efficiency.

Sad times indeed. But let’s remember that this cloud has a silver lining. At least the inevitable future LS swap argument won’t ever happen…

Comments

Dam it mazda

They show us a concept and say that if one of there SUVs do good they would make a RX-9, later they hit us with a no RX-9 article. Just a bunch of Pr*ck teasers…

You mean c0cktease

Why!!???!?!!!!???

Because “Reliability”

Head gaskets are expensive

Because 90% of people who want the RX-9 to be produced will not buy it, they’re just loud on the internet.

Because a marque can’t just throw a car on the market, say “the car guys will buy it anyways” and hope for the best. That strategy has failed multiple times already and eventually made marques like Lancia go down the drain. Toyota made considerably more profit with the Prius than with the GT-86 and Ford sells SUVs multiple times over ST/RS cars, for example.
As much as Mazda would probably like to build a car like this, they are first and foremost making cars with the interest of reaping profits. Mazda’s current lineup is promising and one sports car (being the MX-5) is enough for a marque of the volume like Mazda.