Mazda is working on a successor to the RX-7 (with a Wankel engine)

Of course we’ve said fifty times in the last eight years that the Wankel engine will return and that the RX-7 (or RX-8) will get a sequel, but this time the new RX looks closer than ever. Not only can you now buy a rotary engine (even if it’s a range extender), Mazda is now confirming that it’s working on a production version of the SP Iconic.

Mazda CEO Katsuhiro Moro says at the Tokyo Motor Show that they are very pleased with all the support and encouragement they have received for the SP Iconic. This research model is also called (by the designer) the successor of RX-7. “With this encouragement, we will launch the Wankel engine development team on February 1 to get closer to this dream,” he said.

The CEO immediately says that it will not be easy to introduce the Wankel engine in an era where everyone must be climate neutral. The Wankel engine is also not known for being an economy miracle. When unveiling the SP Iconic, Mazda revealed that the concept could run on hydrogen. And otherwise on climate-neutral eFuels.

What will the RX-7’s successor look like?

Mazda does not want to say anything about the new car and the rotary engine looks like. In any case, the SP Iconic had a ‘twin-rotor’, or twin-disc, Wankel engine. The MX-30 only gets one rotor. The rotary engine acts as a generator in the SP Iconic to provide power to the electric motors. The power of the research model is 370 hp.

The Mazda Iconic SP is wider, lower and longer than the MX-5. The overall length is 4.18 meters, the width is 1.85 meters and the height is only 1.15 meters. The wheel is quite large at 2.59 meters. Good news for tall people, hopefully. The RX-8 is slightly longer, but less wide and less high. For now, the team has to work, so it may be a while before we see anything concrete.