Rotary engined Mazda RX-9 expected by 2019

Rumors around claim that Mazda has approved the production of the RX-8 successor, as the Mazda RX-9 is slated for debut in 2019.

Japanese website, Holiday Auto has revealed that at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2019, Mazda is preparing to debut an all new rotary powered car, a successor to the RX-8. The car is expected to be named the Mazda RX-9.

What is so mouth watering about this car which is expected to arrive, is that it will have a turbocharged 1.6-litre, two-rotor Wankel engine, bringing the iconic technology back into production. The engine is expected to produce around 400hp and is claimed that it will have acceleration like a fast motorcycle. That highly possible with such amount of power when it is coupled with a target weight the engineers are to achieve is only a mere 1,300-kilograms. The weight is also expected to be distributed as evenly as possible as the car will have a transaxle gearbox mounted at the rear of the car.

The car is expected to be valued less than eight million Yen, which translates to under Rs. 60 lakh in Indian money. Now that is a lot compared to what the previous generation RX-8 was priced at.

The reason for the demise of the rotary engine was that the mechanism of the engine was fairly unreliable. The seals that would block the mixture of fuel, combustion and exhaust chambers would wear fairly quickly and cause malfunctioning of the engine. But the performance benefits of the engine were significant, which is why, Mazda has shown that they have not abandoned the rotary engine which is loved by many car nerds and enthusiasts.

Mazda has only revealed a a vision model called the Mazda RX-Vision which debuted last year. However, an all new concept car is expected to be showcased in 2017.

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