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…