Mazda to Bring Back Rotary-Powered RX-7?

Mazda Motor Corp. is quietly developing a new version of its discontinued RX-7 sports car and a new rotary engine that could end up powering it, says Autocar.

The British enthusiastic magazine says neither the car nor its engine has been approved. But it cites unidentified sources who say the car is one of five new models Mazda plans to introduce by 2016.

If built, the two-seater would share its platform with the next-generation MX-5 Miata sports car due in 2015, according to Autocar. Chief designer Ikuo Maeda tells the magazine the company has made no decision about the car's styling.

Last November Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai told Automotive News that the company would never relaunch production of a rotary engine unless it could sell at least 100,000 of them per year. Mazda phased out its rotary engine in 2012.

Autocar says the current thinking at Mazda is to fit the would-be RX-7 with a conventional powerplant to keep costs down. But the magazine also cites unnamed executives who say Mazda continues to develop rotary engines. Last month the company showed a little 330-cc, one-rotor engine designed as part of an onboard recharging system for a prototype Mazda2 electric car.

Autocar speculates that Mazda is pursuing a two-rotor, 250-hp rotary engine that still could be chosen for the RX-7 if the company decides to build it and a car to put it in.