The Mazda RX-9 Could Be A 400bhp Rotary Weapon
After teasing the world with the RX-Vision concept earlier this year, Mazda has got the ball rolling again with plans to reveal a successor to the RX-8 at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show.
Japanese website Holiday Auto has managed to get some inside information on the car, and the stats make for epic reading. The RX-9 could feature a 1.6-litre, twin-rotor turbocharged powertrain which should be good for at least 400bhp of rotary scream.
Those figures would make the RX-9 the most powerful production car ever produced by Mazda, but all this power will seemingly come at a cost. Estimations sit at around $80,000 (£60,500) which would make it nearly three-times the price of an RX-8. But for a return to rotary power for Mazda, I’m sure we’d be willing to pay the price!
Mazda has already trademarked the RX-9 badge, so fingers-crossed we will see a new rotary king by the end of the decade.
Comments
I hope there’s an affordable version, with maybe 350 HP or so
This will be a wonderful alternative to the BMW M4
Why not make 2 versions of the RX-9? One could be in the price and size range of the BRZ/86 with a single rotary making similar power while the second could be aimed at those luxury sport car with the twin rotor turbo engine.
The rear end looks awesome, not too big of a fan of the front, looks like any other mazda
There are so many reasons why an $80k Mazda doesn’t work. Buy an M2 with a few mods and you have a car with 400hp for less. Buy a Porsche Cayman S and you have one of the best chassis and steering with 350hp and still for less than $80k unless you spec the crap out of it. Buy a Camaro SS and get 50 more horsepower for 10’s of thousands of dollars less and blow the rest of the money on parts. Buy a used Miata and spend $20k on a fully built LS engine swap.
My point is that Mazda’s ethos doesn’t live in that price range and it will be very difficult to convince enough people to make it a profitable car. If you had $80k would you want to drive around in a brand new Mazda, telling your coworkers that you just dropped nearly 2 years worth of paychecks on a Mazda… Or would you more likely buy that Porsche Carrera and join the PCA and tout to your coworkers that you are now a Porsche owner.
The companies that can get away with charging that price for a car are the ones that have a heritage and reputation for making premium sports cars. Porsche has taken decades to get to the point where they can charge and arm and a leg. Nissan took several generations of GT-R to get to this point of charging nearly $100k, and this R35 didn’t even start at that price. The R35 crept up in price as it proved its performance and desire.
My final point is that there likely won’t be anything extraordinary about the RX-9. It likely won’t do something that hasn’t been done already. 400hp has already been done, rotary engines have already been done, sub 3000lbs cars have already been done. Unless it has something that is truly remarkable or extraordinary, then people will not likely part ways with $80k for a Mazda.
Let the ls swapping begin
When you can’t decide if you want to be a GT-86 or a Mustang /.
400 HP of unreliable rotary power. Hahahaha bet every owner will be on the side of the road every 20’miles.
Yeah….the rotary is back!!!
Gonna start cleaning a spot in the driveway
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