Mazda’s European head of product planning has strongly suggested that a halo sports car, positioned above the MX-5, is finally on the way.
New life has been breathed into rumours of a rotary revival at Mazda.
In an interview with UK publication Auto Express, Mazda Europe’s product planning supervisor, Moritz Oswald, revealed that a production version of the 2023 Iconic SP concept was still on the brand’s agenda.
“If there’s a feasible way to do that, then I’m sure if somebody will do it, it’s Mazda, because here the enthusiasts still make things happen,” Oswald said.
“I think at the moment the MX-5 is still our halo car that stands for everything that Mazda products should. Could there be something next to it or above? Yes.”
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Despite not having a rotary-powered production sports car since the RX-8 was phased out in 2012, the company has continued to show rotary-powered concepts.
The RX-Vision, shown in 2015, was described as introducing the next-generation SkyActiv-R rotary powertrain, but aside from a restyled RX-Vision GT3 for the Gran Turismo Sport video game in 2020, no production version has emerged.
In 2023, Mazda revealed the Iconic SP, a hybrid sports car concept powered by a two-rotor engine.
Despite no further evidence of a production version of the Iconic SP, Mazda showed a plug-in hybrid concept, called the Vision X-Coupe, in 2025, with a turbocharged two-rotor engine and plug-in hybrid powertrain claimed to be capable of 180km of EV-only range and 800km in total.
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Moving away from the two-door sports car format of other recent rotary concepts, the Vision-X instead adopted a larger four-door coupe format.
“Everybody loves cars, so of course there is a deep desire to keep on launching emotional products,” Oswald said.
He also cautioned that economic realities may still stand in the way of introducing a low-volume niche model. “We are also a company that has to bring in revenues,” he explained.
Despite affirmations that a rotary Mazda flagship was still in development, no timeline for production or other status updates were given to suggest when a production-ready version might be seen.
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