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Mazda has unveiled 3 new concept cars for this year's annual Tokyo Auto Show. One of these vehicles, dubbed the RX-EVOLV has caught the attention of RX-7 and rotary enthusiast as it features the latest incarnation of the rotary engine called the RENESIS. This new engine, who's name comes from the combination of RE + Genesis, is a continuation of the MSPRE engine seen in the RX-01 concept car and is available with two intake port configurations. The high performance intake port configuration produces a claimed maximum HP of 276 @ 9000rpm and max torque of 154 ft/lbs @ 8000rpm with an estimated redline of 10,000rpm. The other engine is said to produce 237HP @ 8000rpm and max torque of 141 ft/lbs @ 7000rpm. Displacement of the engine has remained the same, 1.3L, and it is normally aspirated (no turbos or superchargers). The power increases are due to the new side port exhaust versus the peripheral ported exhaust found in previous Mazda rotary engines. Also new with this concept car is a 6-speed automatic transmission with manual shift which is controlled by a very trick, rotary shaped shifter. The car's shape is clearly not meant for production as Mazda's web site mentions "Concept Car" many times. They do, however, say that his is a 4 door sports car which is "RX-7 sized" and for the rotary sports car driver. Could this be a glimpse of the new successor to our beloved RX-7? Time will only tell but the good news is that Mazda is still developing the rotary engine and with it's new LEV (Low Emissions Vehicle) certification, the chances of us seeing a rotary powered vehicle soon after the turn of the century are very good. Click Here to read the Mazda Press Release
According to a report in Automobile magazine, a new rotary powered sports sedan has been given the go ahead from Mazda. The 4-door sedan, reported using a 250HP 2-rotor (possibly the 240HP RENESIS engine? -- rx7.com). The sedan is meant to compete with the new Lexus IS300 and is said to be use a all-new double wishbone suspension and the 6-speed manual transmission Mazda first used in the 10th Anniversary Miata. (and from inspecting the 6-speed from the Miata which was in our shop recently, it was obviously designed to handle more power than the Miata was pushing through it. Our guess is that the transmission was actually designed for these new 200+ HP rotary cars.) |
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