Mazda is to revive its famous rotary-engined RX-7, and Autocar's artists have been hard at work drawing up our very latest impression of what the finished car will look like.
A completely new version of the rear-drive, two-plus-two Mazda coupe will appear within the next two to three years, providing a replacement for the previous model which was dropped from the UK in 1996 and Japan in 2003.
The new RX-7 will be the first Mazda to benefit from the new exterior design theme that it has developed through a series of four concept cars (Nagare, Ryuga, Hakaze and Taiki) inspired by the idea of ‘flow’. Taiki is the latest, appearing at October’s Tokyo show, and will provide ‘graphic design elements’ for the next RX-7 according to Mazda’s design chief Laurens van Den Acker.
Don’t expect to see the enclosed rear wheels or the sharp-edged tail, but do expect a shape informed by the ‘flow’ of theme, which promises to produce a car of very individual style.
The production car will of course be rotary-powered, as it has been ever since the model’s debut in 1978, and with a brand-new Wankel engine developed in part to celebrate Mazda’s admirable 40 year history with this technology.
The new engine will feature direct injection and turbocharged for its RX-7 application; expect it to have a power outputl in excess of 250bhp. Its twin chambers are of 800cc rather than the RX-8’s 654cc, producing an equivalent capacity of 3.2 litres.
The RX-7 will provide a smaller, lighter and more overtly sporty alternative to the new RX-8. That car, which will also get the new rotary engine, will continue as a four-seater but will probably grow to become more of a GT car to distance itself from the RX-7.
A completely new version of the rear-drive, two-plus-two Mazda coupe will appear within the next two to three years, providing a replacement for the previous model which was dropped from the UK in 1996 and Japan in 2003.
The new RX-7 will be the first Mazda to benefit from the new exterior design theme that it has developed through a series of four concept cars (Nagare, Ryuga, Hakaze and Taiki) inspired by the idea of ‘flow’. Taiki is the latest, appearing at October’s Tokyo show, and will provide ‘graphic design elements’ for the next RX-7 according to Mazda’s design chief Laurens van Den Acker.
Don’t expect to see the enclosed rear wheels or the sharp-edged tail, but do expect a shape informed by the ‘flow’ of theme, which promises to produce a car of very individual style.
The production car will of course be rotary-powered, as it has been ever since the model’s debut in 1978, and with a brand-new Wankel engine developed in part to celebrate Mazda’s admirable 40 year history with this technology.
The new engine will feature direct injection and turbocharged for its RX-7 application; expect it to have a power outputl in excess of 250bhp. Its twin chambers are of 800cc rather than the RX-8’s 654cc, producing an equivalent capacity of 3.2 litres.
The RX-7 will provide a smaller, lighter and more overtly sporty alternative to the new RX-8. That car, which will also get the new rotary engine, will continue as a four-seater but will probably grow to become more of a GT car to distance itself from the RX-7.
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