Mazda RX9 back on agenda

Mazda could be about to embark on a sports car revival with not one, but two new tyre-shredding rear-drive coupes under study – potentially taking its sports car line-up to three separate models.

The first and arguably most exciting option is the production version of the Mazda SP Iconic concept, a 272kW PHEV that has already been confirmed for production.

It will almost certainly be packing a new rotary engine merged into its twin motor hybrid powertrain as a range extender.

While this vehicle has been mooted as the next-generation Mazda MX-5 in some quarters, Mazda executives last week poured cold water on this theory, telling carsales the MX-5 needs to remain petrol powered, light weight and affordable.

Eiji Kimoto, Mazda’s design chief for models such as the CX-50 and BT-50, told carsales that a hybrid arrangement with a heavy battery would ruin the MX-5’s purity, suggesting the SP Iconic and MX-5 will be two differing vehicles.

“The lightness of the car is the really the life of the MX-5,” he said.

“So in some fashion, we want to find a way to meet those things with keeping the lightweight [elements of the MX-5], without making it heavier.

“I myself own the MX-5 and that light weight is really fantastic.”

The third and more enigmatic sports car from Mazda could be a Toyota Supra twin-under-the-skin, powered by Mazda’s lusty 3.3-litre in-line six-cylinder turbo-petrol engine as seen in the CX-90 large SUV, which outputs a handy 254kW/500Nm.

Reports from Japanese media outlet Bestcar claim that Mazda and Toyota are set to become bedfellows for this new project, extending a relationship that has been nurtured for almost 10 years now.

The new sports car is expected to retain a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and could revive the RX moniker, but this would go against the brand’s previous ethos of only bestowing the RX name on rotary-powered vehicles.

A more appropriate use deployment of the RX badges would be on a vehicle with a rotary engine, namely the production version of the Iconic SP.

Mazda Australia’s managing director, Vinesh Bhindi, told carsales he would “absolutely” like to have such a vehicle in showrooms, confirming the return of the rotary engine – even as a range-extending device – would be a huge deal for the brand.

“It’s good to know [Mazda president and CEO Katsuhiro] Moro is saying it’s his ambition to realise that and we give him all the support and encouragement,” he said.

“That's all very exciting.”

But Bhindi wouldn’t be drawn on whether the RX label will be daubed on the new vehicle.

“There’s speculation of what it could be called, but we refer to it as Iconic SP.

“But how it evolves into reality and the technology [behind it] is more that’s been spoken about.

“In terms of the look, it’s an amazing looking concept but what does it look like in reality? Only time will tell.”

Whatever the outcome, it’s clear Mazda is doubling down on its sports car development, which is sure to get fans frothing.

Watch this space.

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