Posted on 12/29/2009 10:35:50 AM PST by Wooly
Its been rumoured that we can expect the resurrection of the Mazda RX-7 sometime in 2011. It is true that we’ve been hearing these stories telling us that we should expect the rotary engine powered sports car any day now and the car’s still yet to reveal its smiling face, but this time, it looks like it is the real deal. Here we have reports from Japan indicating that the next RX-7 may be just around the corner. That is excellent news, isn’t it? Maybe not so, for Mazda RX-8.
Reports from Inside Line suggest that the birth of the 2-seater Mazda RX-7 will mean the death of the current 4 door, 4 seat RX-8 that has been in circulation since 2004. Furthermore, the Santa Monica gang say that the next generation rotary sports car may not exceed the performance of either the last twin-turbo RX-7 or the current RX-8’s 1.3 liter 232 HP Renesis engine. This is contrary to earlier rumors, suggesting that the latest 1.6L 16X power plant was churning out as much as 350 ponies while still achieving superior fuel economy.
By sticking with the rotary engine, Mazda will ensure that the model can be adapted to run on hydrogen in the future. Also, it would retain the RX-8’s appeal as the only rotary-engine car in production. Now with a total capacity of 1.6 litres to increase torque and the turbocharger to boost power beyond 300HP, the RX-7 will be much more sporty than the RX-8.
(Excerpt) Read more at nitrobahn.com ...
I hope they being back the RX7 convertible. That was a cool car.
I still miss my Gen 1. It was a truly awesome sports car, worn apex seals and all...
That was my brother’s 2nd car. Most of the kids had their Civic rice rockets but he found out Mazda parts werent exactly cheap, but accessories were bountiful.
I got a new RX-7 in about 1984 and it was about the most uncomfortable car I have ever driven. The rotary engine was no gem either. Never again.
Wife had a ‘73 RX2 when we first met. That little car would fly !
I think it’s a bad move that will confuse the market. Why do they need two two-seater sports cars? It would be better if they offered a rotory powered Miata option. They could also offer a hard-top Miata that had a little more slope. This would bolster the Miata and give it better power options.
The problem with the RX8 was platform bloat.
The Gen 1 RX7 weighed 2300 pounds. The current RX8 weighs >3100 pounds. On the other hand, a current Miata weighs around 2300 pounds. Mazda fans have been hoping for a rotary Miata since the model was introduced, and Mazda has played with a hardtop variant of the Miata, like the Porsche Cayman hardtop. I’ll bet they could do a homologation version of a rotary powered Miata hardtop that would weigh in at 2000 pounds. 300 HP on that kind of platform would rock!
gmta!
A feiend of mine had a 1987 RX-7 convertible, which I think was the only year they made it. It gave you a choice of a targa style or a full convertible mode. I don’t know how it handled, but it sure looked good.
I test drove an RX-7 in 1981, and it was a rocket ship, but, as it was to be my only car, I didn’t want a 2 seater, so I bought a Celica lift back, which was the best made car I’ve ever had.
My RX-3 kicked royal butt back in the day. It was my first car and it was SO fast! I cannot believe this article today for I was wondering why I do not see many RX-8. THanks for the explanation.
Why did not the rotary motor take off better, certainly less parts to go bad?
2 horsepower per liter is strong like bull. Good grief that's a lot.
That 16X rotary engine must rev above 10,000 rpm to make that sort of power.
Mazdaspeed, I'd rather wait for that mill to come out.
Groan,,, brings back memories of the most beautiful car ever built, IMHO.
[IMG]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i300/AllenDB/RX7Lighter.jpg[/IMG]
‘93 RX-7 that hauled. Only got it up to 154 between LA and Vegas. Wife started pounding on me. Sold it in ‘01 because of certain circumstances. Darn.
I’ve got an ‘05 RX-8 and love it but it wouldn’t break my heart in the least to have a a twin turbo option.
The 4 door thing is, in my opinion, a little overrated. It’s nice to have extra space but if you have to use the back for an adult passenger the configuration makes getting out while in a parking space more of an effort than it should be. On the other hand, having that extra travel room for the front seat gives me leg room that I just can’t get in most new coupes. Oh yeah, the 4 door config helps the cost of insurance too!
The RX-2 had the type 12-A rotary motor. I think but not sure the RX-3 had the larger 13-B motor(or was that out of an RX-7?) My boyfriend at that time helped me convert the RX-2 motor from 12-A to 13-B would not be caught dead with a wrench today.
Boy I could beat all the crappy BMWs back then. Very upsetting for them!! LOL
Thanks for the memories. Yeah, if the Miata went Rotary would be SO exciting.
Lets try that again. Wonder how to do inline?
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i300/AllenDB/RX7Lighter.jpg
Yeah, and the cause of lots of single vehicular fatalities!
You'd be finding Miatas hanging upside down in trees. On fire.
350 horsepower in a 2000 pound car is comparable to 700 horsepower in a 4000 pound car. That's NASCAR on the street.
I've got about 475 horsepower in a 3800 pound car in my garage and it's like driving on ice.
(img src="http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i300/AllenDB/RX7Lighter.jpg"(/A)(P)
just change the ( to < and the ) to >
If you do the above the huge image you linked to will display. It's big. So, I changed the width and height by doing this:
(img src="http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i300/AllenDB/RX7Lighter.jpg" width = "200" height = "150" (/A)(P)
You'd need to change the the ( and ) to < and > in the second example too.
I also had an RX3 very fun to drive.
The reason rotary engines have not fared so well is efficiency. the rotor ports open too soon in the combustion cycle (similar to a 2-stroke) wasting energy. The partially burned mixture also increased pollution (remember the air pump that fed into the RX3 exhaust?).
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