Mazda fans, we have news for you. Rotary engine news for you. RX-7 news for you. But keep your expectations in check — it’s just a concept car.
Mazda used the Japan Mobility Show (formerly the Tokyo Motor Show) today to show off a concept car inspired by its most legendary vehicle. The Mazda Iconic SP looks like the next-generation RX-7 Mazda never built, right down to the pop-up headlights.
It looks like what you’d get if you combined the curvy last-generation RX-7 with the taut lines and pronounced hood ribs of the current MX-5 Miata.
So why are we comparing it more to the former? Because it has a rotary engine.
An Extended-Range Electric Vehicle… We Think
It’s a hybrid… we think. Mazda’s statements on the powertrain are a little hard to parse. The “powertrain features Mazda’s unique two-rotor rotary EV system,” the company says. It also promises this new double Wankel engine “is powered by carbon-neutral fuel” and “can burn various fuels such as hydrogen.” The model also has batteries, Mazda says, which are “charged by [a] recyclable energy source” as well as the engine.
That suggests an arrangement closer to the departed Chevrolet Volt than today’s plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). In today’s PHEVs, either the electric motor or the gasoline engine can power the wheels, depending on the circumstances. In a Volt-like series hybrid, the engine acts as an onboard generator, and electricity always powers the wheels.
Mazda claims a total output of 370 PS (about 365 horsepower) and near 50:50 weight distribution.
More Flowery Language Than Technical Detail
If the confusing claims about the powertrain have you suspecting this car is part fantasy, you’re not alone. Mazda’s claims about the Iconic SP are full of classic, over-the-top concept car language that makes it seem unlikely the car will ever reach a showroom.
A sampling: “The vibrant red color of Viola Red is a concept color created by overlaying Mazda’s corporate philosophy of ‘enrich life-in-motion for those we serve’ based on Mazda’s desire to cherish the color red.”
But It May Still Have a Future
So, this is likely to stay a concept car forever. But it may hint at two future directions for Mazda design.
One is aesthetic. The era of electrification gives car designers more freedom with shape, as they don’t have to accommodate large engines in their designs. The Iconic SP suggests Mazda designers could tap into some of their most iconic past designs for future electric vehicles (EVs) and may preview the next Miata.
The other is technological. Mazda is clearly not done with the rotary engines that powered its most iconic cars and wants to find a way to bring that technology to the PHEV era. Rotary engines are known for smooth power output and a lot of power in a small package. They can be fuel-inefficient at larger sizes. But a tiny two-rotor model might make an ideal range extender in a PHEV.
Mazda has been slow to embrace electricity and hybrids. Its MX-30 electric car has been a market failure. Its first PHEV, the CX-90, is aimed right down the center of American tastes and is likely to succeed. But it’s a 3-row SUV, not the lithe little sports cars Mazda was once known for.
So perhaps there’s room for a less exotic take on the Iconic SP in the Mazda lineup — one that can take regular gasoline, not hydrogen.
