At this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, held later this month, Mazda will unveil a concept sports car. Little is known about the concept apart from the teaser image Mazda has provided.
From the photo we can make out that it’ll be a front-engined, rear-wheel drive coupe. The concept is “modern” but also “maintains a sense of lineage and authenticity”, says Mazda in the accompanying press release. Adding, “condensing Mazda’s entire history of sports cars into a single model”.
Interestingly, Mazda will also have the Cosmo Sport/110S on display, possibly hinting the concept car will have a rotary engine. The Cosmo Sport was the brand’s first rotary engined sports car, debuting in 1967. There have been whispers and rumours for years now about Mazda following up the RX-7 and RX-8 models with a new rotary-powered sports car.
Some have suggested it’ll be launched in time to celebrate the company’s centenary in 2020. I can’t think of a better celebration for Mazda’s 100th anniversary than with a proper rotary-powered sports car. From the company that gave us the RX-Series, the Cosmo, and 787B, it’s the natural choice.
A number of Mazda’s engineers have also hinted at the return of the rotary engine, suggesting there’s still potential for it. Mazda have always been a bit quirky and different from the norm. They don’t produce any hybrids of EVs, instead honing the available technologies of petrol and diesel engines. It’ll be interesting to see where they’ll take rotaries.
Alongside the unnamed concept car, Mazda will also display the Koeru crossover concept shown at Frankfurt. There’ll also be racing-spec MX-5s, all to fit the company’s “accelerate towards our dreams” theme for this year’s Tokyo Motor Show.
We’ll be attending the show this year so stay tuned for our complete coverage of all the new cars and concepts (including this one) later this month.