Photo: Mazda
Ever since Mazda published that teasing image - what are we talking about? - ever since the RX-8 was discontinued actually, all we could think about was the new sports model from the Hiroshima-based company.
The RX-8 was a tricky car flawed by countless technical problems that gave it the image of a very unreliable vehicle. And yet, not a single person that has ever driven the car got out of the sports coupe other than with a big smile on their face.
It has to do with the ability to rev an engine all the way to 9,000 rpm while sitting nicely inside a car and not on top of a motorcycle. It's something we car drivers don't normally get to do, and it's something very rewarding.
The RX-8 - and the RX-7 before it - also benefited from very well-thought-out designs. They were sports coupes, but they had something special about them, something undeniably Japanese, but in a comical manga way. They were elegant yet menacing.
Now, Motoring.com.au tells us that the new car Mazda is going to show in Tokyo is probably going to be called RX-9 and it will continue what its two predecessors have started. According to the Australian website, the new RX-9 will use a hybrid turbo rotary engine consisting of a twin 800 cc rotary setup accompanied by an electric turbocharger.
Such a configuration would put an end to one of RX-8's 1.3-liter Wankel engine's biggest problems: low- and mid-range torque. The new RX-9 would have a two-stage turbocharging system, with the electric unit active at low rpms and the standard exhaust gas-driven turbocharger cutting in at higher rpms.
The chances for a production version of the so-called RX-9 are further boosted by the 50th anniversary of the first Mazda rotary engine taking place in 2017, so the timing seems right. Motoring.com.au also has two pictures of the car (from what appears to be a Japanese magazine or brochure) that appear to match the teaser perfectly, so they could be pointing to RX-9's real styling.
This is exciting news and we can't wait for the hostilities to begin in Tokyo later this month. If we were there, it's needless to say which of the stands we'd be visiting first.
It has to do with the ability to rev an engine all the way to 9,000 rpm while sitting nicely inside a car and not on top of a motorcycle. It's something we car drivers don't normally get to do, and it's something very rewarding.
The RX-8 - and the RX-7 before it - also benefited from very well-thought-out designs. They were sports coupes, but they had something special about them, something undeniably Japanese, but in a comical manga way. They were elegant yet menacing.
Now, Motoring.com.au tells us that the new car Mazda is going to show in Tokyo is probably going to be called RX-9 and it will continue what its two predecessors have started. According to the Australian website, the new RX-9 will use a hybrid turbo rotary engine consisting of a twin 800 cc rotary setup accompanied by an electric turbocharger.
Such a configuration would put an end to one of RX-8's 1.3-liter Wankel engine's biggest problems: low- and mid-range torque. The new RX-9 would have a two-stage turbocharging system, with the electric unit active at low rpms and the standard exhaust gas-driven turbocharger cutting in at higher rpms.
The chances for a production version of the so-called RX-9 are further boosted by the 50th anniversary of the first Mazda rotary engine taking place in 2017, so the timing seems right. Motoring.com.au also has two pictures of the car (from what appears to be a Japanese magazine or brochure) that appear to match the teaser perfectly, so they could be pointing to RX-9's real styling.
This is exciting news and we can't wait for the hostilities to begin in Tokyo later this month. If we were there, it's needless to say which of the stands we'd be visiting first.
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