Mazda RX-9 rendered

Is this what the all-new Mazda RX-9 could look like?

The latest Mazda RX sports car fan fiction from Andras Veres via Instagram blends the Japanese brand’s evolving design language, as seen on models like the upcoming Mazda CX-60, with a sporty two-door body style to great effect.

But the burning question for enthusiasts, Mazda sports car tragics and rotary fans alike is ‘does Mazda have the courage (and capital) to develop a halo sports car’?

The short answer is most probably ‘no’.

However, even before Mazda revealed its RX Vision rotary sports car concept back in 2015, enthusiasts have been eagerly awaiting the next RX sports car, which has long been tipped to wear the RX-9 badge following the retirement of the RX-8 in 2012.

The 2015 RX concept suggested the rotary sports car was a done deal, but there’s still no sign of it today, seven long years later.

Over the intervening years we’ve gleaned evidence from Mazda executives in Japan and from patent filings of a mysterious sports car that suggest the brand has not given up on a rotary-powered halo car.

Mazda has retained its rotary engine tech but is currently employing it only as a generator in the super-efficient MX-30 range-extender EV.

The company previewed a 1.6-litre twin-rotor 16X rotary concept engine as long ago as 2007 and more recent patents show there continues to be a desire within Mazda to revive a high-performance rotary engine in a proper RX sports car.

Mazda has done nothing to slow the rumour mill either, releasing the Mazda RX-Vision GT3 Concept race car in 2020, allowing gamers to drive the rotary-powered racer in the digital world via the Gran Turismo PlayStation video game and whetting appetites for a reborn RX-9.

However, the reality is Mazda probably doesn’t have the cash to build an all-new sports car on its own.

Indeed, Mazda’s latest big investment went into the development of its large vehicle platform or Large Product Group (LPG) and new inline six-cylinder engine family, the fruits of which will be exclusively SUV-based since it now appears likely the Mazda6 will be ditched.

The Japanese car-maker has also committed to a significant electrification strategy that will see five hybrid, five plug-in hybrid and three EVs released around 2025, and more to come after that. Logic would suggest that any available R&D budget has already been spent for the mid-term, meaning the RX-9 will probably only ever be a flight of fancy for now.

While the idea of a 300kW-plus twin-turbo 1.6-litre rotary engine slung under the long bonnet of a slinky rear-wheel drive Mazda RX sports car remains tantalising, the closest we’re likely to get could well be renders like this.

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