Mazda to Reincarnate the Wankel Magic with the RX-9

Mazda may finally bring a successor for the RX-8 that resurrects the company’s renowned rotary motor.

Mazda is the only car manufacturer in the world to successfully build and run rotary engine production cars. With the demise of the RX-8, the world has been missing out on the charms of the Wankel engine. According to a Japan’s Holiday Auto Magazine, Mazda have officially approved a production model based on the RX-Vision Concept that appeared last year at the Tokyo Motor Show.

“For a long time I’ve dreamt of creating a real sports car, a serious car for grown-ups that just epitomizes cool,” said Ikuo Maeda, who was the general manager of Mazda’s design division at the introduction of the RX-Vision concept last year, “The technology of the rotary engine is something only Mazda can build,” said Maeda-san, whose first car was an RX-7. “If we give up, it’ll disappear.”

The brand new Mazda will feature the largest rotary engine yet, a 1.6-litre iteration with two 800cc rotors. Holiday Auto reports a mind-boggling output of 400 HP and the car should weight under 1300 kg resulting in some mental performance figures.

To help us have a better idea of the upcoming Mazda, the Japanese magazine has gone as far as to render multiple pictures based on the concept in bright yellow. We think it looks fabulous and the RX-Vision concept is proof.

Holiday Auto Magazine predicts Mazda will show the concept version of the RX-9 at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, then roll out the production version at the 2019 show before the car goes on sale in 2020. Let’s hope the rumors are all true.