On the 2023 Tokyo auto display, Mazda unveiled the Iconic SP, a hybrid sports activities automotive idea that reimagines the automaker’s rotary-engine heritage for an electrified long run.

Mazda did not invent the Wankel rotary engine, nevertheless it did popularize it with rotary-powered sports activities automobiles, significantly the RX-7. It hasn’t constructed any such automotive because the RX-8 ended manufacturing led to 2012. Mazda has since reintroduced the rotary as a variety extender within the MX-30 R-EV (which may not be offered within the U.S.), however the Iconic SP displays how rotary energy might be reinstated in its maximum recognizable shape.

The Iconic SP combines a two-rotor engine (versus the single-rotor engine within the MX-30 R-EV) which fees a battery pack, suggesting a series-hybrid method. Mazda was once mild on main points for the electrical facet of the powertrain, however mentioned the mix is just right for 365 hp, propelling a automotive weighing 3,196 lbs. Mazda additionally claims a really perfect 50/50 entrance/rear weight distribution.

Mazda Iconic SP idea

Whilst there is not any visual rate port, the Mazda press liberate mentions that, along with being charged by way of the engine, the battery may also be charged “with electrical energy derived from renewable power,” implying that this can be a plug-in hybrid. It additionally states that the Iconic SP is designed to “provide energy when taking part in out of doors recreational and within the time of a crisis,” hinting at bidirectional charging capacity.

The 2-rotor engine could also be designed to run on “carbon-neutral gas” in addition to hydrogen. This multi-fuel method might be some other consider saving the rotary engine for makes use of past the range-extender serve as observed within the MX-30 R-EV.

Mazda Iconic SP idea

The curvaceous, low-slung styling of the Iconic SP brings to thoughts the final-generation FD RX-7 of the Nineties. The Iconic SP even has an up to date model of the RX-7’s pop-up headlights. At 164.5 inches lengthy, the concept that is 10.4 inches longer than the present Mazda MX-5 Miata which, with its very mild building and back-to-basics method, is also the greenest sports activities automotive at this time (aside from conceivable EVs).

If the Iconic SP reaches manufacturing, its rotary engine and conceivable sequence hybrid gadget would make it distinctive. Collection hybrids are not a great fit for high-performance or luxurious automobiles, as Infiniti has discovered. Possibly Mazda can paintings its magic?