Report: Mazda Design Boss Pushing for New RX-7

**Administrator** · 10-22-09, 17:05

Mazda's design boss is working hard to convince company executives to build a successor to the RX-7. He has even gone so far as to create design sketches for the next generation sports car.

In an interview wit the U.K.'s AutoCar, Ikuo Maeda said that the car would be a two-seater and like it's predecessors, it would be powered by a rotary engine.

Mazda has been without a halo car since the third generation vehicle ceased production in 2002. The RX-8 was brought to market shortly thereafter, but as a significantly more pedestrian sports car.

AutoCar suggests that if Madea is successful we should expect a concept next year. Much like the rest of Mazda's lineup it will probably have a more progressive design – hopefully along the lines of the Furai concept, pictured above.

More: Report: Mazda Design Boss Pushing for New RX-7 on AutoGuide.com

**Zach** · 10-23-09, 11:28

They need to come up with something. Seems the only ones 'getting it' with regards to sports are Nissan with their GTR and the new Toyota/Subaru creation coming out.

Mazda needs to pick it up and get crackin' and put the Furai or Taiki designs into real world development.

**med_mx6** · 10-23-09, 17:59

Not more speculation about a possible RX-7 successor! I'm so sick of this. OK, we get it already... lots of talk and negotiations need to happen, yes, no, no, yes, recession, no, Nagare, maybe, blah de blah. Just commit to it already or STFU about it. I will believe it (and blow a load on it... monetarily too) when I see it on the showroom floors.

**MazdaMan88** · 10-24-09, 22:10

The RX8 is a decent car, but it was never a proper RX7 successor. Anyone who thinks it was deserves a kick in the groin. The Mazdaspeed3 is a better car for crying out loud, and it's a five door hatch. If they do build it, they need to either ditch the Renesis or turbocharge it. No more N/A rotary crap unless they plan on using more than two rotors.

I'm with med_mx6. I'll believe it when I see it.

**maffatato15** · 10-27-09, 20:47

well they can't ditch the rotary or it would be more like an "mx7" instead of an "rx7"

**MazdaMan88** · 11-4-09, 23:58

I'd be outraged if they tried to make a non-rotary RX7 replacement. In fact if they did, it'd probably tear a gaping hole in the space-time continuum and send us all into some alternate reality.

I just vote they ditch the new'ish Renesis 13B rotary they developed for the RX-8 and revert to something simpler like the earlier 13b and 20b rotaries where forced induction was the only fancy trick they used to make power. In my experience, the Renesis is a peaky, rev-happy engine that you have to wind out to get anything out of. Sure, it's great fun, but it's not exactly something you want to drive in traffic on a daily basis. The earliest variant of the 13B-REW found in the last generation RX-7 made its peak horsepower 1000 rpm earlier, and its peak torque 500 rpm earlier. On top of that, it made more of both. It just seems like it'd be a much easier engine to handle, even if the fuel economy and emissions are supposedly worse than the Renesis.

**professorblaze** · 11-11-09, 11:51

the issue was the seals and they thought by no FI it would be more popular and more reliable but got neither.. they should just spend a little more R&D to get a FI renesis so they don't have to r&d yet another engine. the 13b is awesome and the most popular mazda engine ever but bringing it back would show mistake on their part and they won't admit the new one sucks.. so I expect them to complain about the "new rx7" to try and build enough boom they can sell it to their board.

with this economy, itll be a tough sell without boom, as we all know.