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Will Mazda really dare to relaunch a rotary engine coupe?

In 2035, thermal cars will be banned for sale in Europe, so this future coupe is destined for a short career on our Old Continent.

Is Mazda playing tricks with the rotor? This rotary piston engine appeared in the 1950s, then condemned by the oil crisis of 1973, experienced a more than timid career. Mazda was the second manufacturer to use it under the hood of the Cosmo Sport 110S in the late 1960s and still uses it on the MX-30 R-EV SUV. He also animated sports coupes such as the RX-7 and RX-8. Pollution standards and the deployment of electrification should condemn this type of engine, and yet…

A year ago, Mazda presented at the Tokyo Motor Show an attractive coupe reminiscent of the RX-7 (FD3S) marketed between 1991 and 2002, the Iconic SP. It will become reality since the head of design, Masahi Nakayama, confirmed it: “ This concept is not an empty show car. It was designed with the real intention of making it a production model in the not-so-distant future. »

This attractive coupe is in no way aggressive, while suggesting a lot of sportiness.

Even more encouraging, one of the managers clarified that the concept was planned from the start for a possible marketing : « In the development process, everything from door and tire layout, to car length, occupant position and visibility was meticulously researched before reaching the final specifications. »

Still in development, but soon to be condemned here

This Iconic SP is given for 370 hp, a respectable cavalry which will not be developed by the rotary engine. The latter will serve as range extenderas is the case for the MX-30 R-EV. The biggest defenders of rotors will certainly not be convinced… The brand also mentions the possibility of running this engine with synthetic fuel, or even hydrogen.

Hopefully the final lines will be close to this Iconic SP.

Featuring soft, pure lines somewhat reminiscent of the 90s bio-designand hopefully compact in size (4.18 m long for the concept), this Mazda sports coupe will only make car enthusiasts smile. However, the firm must hurry since its coupe will be banned from sale in Europe in eleven short years.

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