Mazda might celebrate its 100th birthday with the reveal of a new RX-7

By Alexander Kalogianni February 19, 2015

1995 Mazda RX-7 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

We waited long enough to finally get our NSX redux, and now that it’s on the way, we can focus on bugging Mazda to get moving on a follow-up to the RX-8. It turns out that not only is a new RX in the works, but it could also clock back a number.

According to Autocar, Mazda is working on a new RX-7, even though they won’t confirm anything about it. What leads them to believe this is that Mazda’s former VP of European research and development Kenichiro Saruwatari stated that 30 engineers are developing rotary engine projects and might have something special on hand for the company’s 100th anniversary in 2020.

Mazda has a new RX-7 slated for 2017, rotary fans rejoice — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The RX-8’s 1.3-liter rotary engine capitalized on the doubled combustion cycles the design provided, essentially doubling the displacement and putting out 228 horsepower.

Saruwatari said that the lighter MX-5 platform would be the perfect match for a similarly powered engine, which would dictate many factors of the end result. If they used the MX-5 platform, it would probably be a two-seater. That, along with its stronger legacy, would mean that the RX-7 is most likely is what the car would be named, instead of RX-9.

Exciting? maybe. We’ve heard things like this before.

Three years ago, Mazda’s sports car chief Nobuhiro Yamamoto told The motor Report that the company was eager to bring the RX-7 name back by 2017 in line with the 50th anniversary, and while we obviously aren’t there yet, by this point, we’d be hearing much more about the car rather than rumors of it matching Mazda’s centennial.

As is always the case with rumors, we’ll assume a position of cautious optimism, hoping that more information comes along that’ll make the RX-7’s return more of a solid possibility.

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Alexander Kalogianni

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Alex K is an automotive writer based in New York. When not at his keyboard or behind the wheel of a car, Alex spends a lot of…

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