The Rotary Returns!...... Rumor

We all know how cool rotary powered cars are. Whether we like them or not, they're always going to be cool. You can't take away from having a motor that screams at such a high RPM and has such a distinctive and amazing engine note.

For most of us, the car that made us think rotary engines were cool and probably the most iconic rotary powered car was the Mazda RX-7. With the other Japanese automakers reviving their iconic cars (Toyota FT-1, Acura NSX, Nissan R35 GT-R) it seems like Mazda is the only one missing.

Well a rumor we heard was that Mazda is in the process of creating a twin turbo rotary motor putting out around 449 horsepower. We first heard that Mazda was producing a normally aspirated engine producing about 300 horsepower that would be fitted into an upgraded next generation Miata platform, but with the now added power, we're thinking that it may be reworked into something similar to the RX-8 platform.

Now, if you're thinking that rotary motors aren't as reliable and get terrible gas mileage, (RX-8 for example) Mazda has a plan to change to that. With Toyota's shared hybrid technology combined with Mazda's new SkyActiv technology, you can be sure that the new rotary powered beast will be lighter and get better gas mileage than it's predecessor.

In May 2017, it will be the 50th anniversary of the the rotary powered Mazda Cosmo, so that's when we should be expecting to see this new car. The name of this concept has not been released yet, but we're assuming it will be called the RX-9 or maybe even the RX-7 again, since the Mazda has trademarked and registered both names recently in Japan.