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Mazda Finally Coming to the Game?

With just about all of the top Japanese auto makers either now selling or openly preparing next generation performance cars, the big question is whether Mazda will grace us with a new RX-7 before the global satellite-dictated nanny-state kicks in and the


With just about all of the top Japanese auto makers either now selling or openly preparing next generation performance cars, the big question is whether Mazda will grace us with a new RX-7 before the global satellite-dictated nanny-state kicks in and the pleasure of guiding our cars with our own hands and feet is taken from us forever.

Mazda still refuse to even possibly maybe consider thinking about officially indicating the likelihood of a successor to the much-loved FD series RX-7, making them just about the only house in Japan to resist the temptation to rejoin the performance battle on the streets.

Every couple of years another magazine will jump up with some supposed insider information and concept art gleaned from the brain of a sufficiently drugged mailroom clerk, and Mazda continue to bait us with sometimes awesome (Furai) and sometimes bizarre (Taiki) concepts, but still no official confirmation on a new RX-7.

At least, it seems, until now. The USA's Road & Track magazine recently postulated that Mazda are set to release a new RX-7 —FE model perhaps— in the faraway year of 2012. Whether it will be include a personal jet pack for its occupants remains to be seen.

While we can't confirm the strap-on rocket, R&T believe the FE RX-7 may arrive sporting the all-new 16X rotary engine; an evolution of the award-winning Renesis 13B found in the RX-8. Armed with a revised eccentric shaft producing more low-end torque—the blatant absence of which has been a common complaint about the RX-8 —and likely some form of forced induction, it's sure to insert a dose of bees up the collective bonnets of the competition.

Add to that the usual bevy of make-believe insider information such as a curb weight under 1500kg, a usable 2+2 seating setup, and a price tag under US$30k (which, of course, will somehow translate to AU$80k), and you've got yourself a winner. Now, if only we can wake up tomorrow and have it be a reality.

Come on Mazda, pull your head out and give us what we want. Stick your hot hatches and your all-wheel-drive turbo sedan; we want a new RX-7.

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