Mazda Iconic SP hybrid sports car concept electrifies RX-7 heritage

On the 2023 Tokyo auto present, Mazda unveiled the Iconic SP, a hybrid sports activities automotive idea that reimagines the automaker’s rotary-engine heritage for an electrified future.

Mazda did not invent the Wankel rotary engine, however it did popularize it with rotary-powered sports activities vehicles, notably the RX-7. It hasn’t constructed such a automotive because the RX-8 ended manufacturing led to 2012. Mazda has since reintroduced the rotary as a variety extender in the MX-30 R-EV (which will not be bought within the U.S.), however the Iconic SP reveals how rotary energy may very well be reinstated in its most recognizable kind.

The Iconic SP combines a two-rotor engine (versus the single-rotor engine within the MX-30 R-EV) which expenses a battery pack, suggesting a series-hybrid method. Mazda was mild on particulars for the electrical aspect of the powertrain, however stated the mixture is nice for 365 hp, propelling a automotive weighing 3,196 lbs. Mazda additionally claims a great 50/50 entrance/rear weight distribution.

Mazda Iconic SP idea

Whereas there is no such thing as a seen cost port, the Mazda press launch mentions that, along with being charged by the engine, the battery will also be charged “with electrical energy derived from renewable vitality,” implying that it’s a plug-in hybrid. It additionally states that the Iconic SP is designed to “provide energy when having fun with outside leisure and within the time of a catastrophe,” hinting at bidirectional charging functionality.

The 2-rotor engine can be designed to run on “carbon-neutral gasoline” in addition to hydrogen. This multi-fuel method may very well be one other consider saving the rotary engine for makes use of past the range-extender perform seen within the MX-30 R-EV.

Mazda Iconic SP idea

The curvaceous, low-slung styling of the Iconic SP brings to thoughts the final-generation FD RX-7 of the Nineteen Nineties. The Iconic SP even has an up to date model of the RX-7’s pop-up headlights. At 164.5 inches lengthy, the idea is 10.4 inches longer than the present Mazda MX-5 Miata which, with its very mild development and back-to-basics method, would be the greenest sports car proper now (excluding attainable EVs).

If the Iconic SP reaches manufacturing, its rotary engine and attainable sequence hybrid system would make it distinctive. Sequence hybrids aren’t an ideal match for high-performance or luxurious vehicles, as Infiniti has found. Perhaps Mazda can work its magic?