The new sports car Iconic SP Sports Coupe can be equipped with a wankel engine that acts as a small generator for a battery pack. Now Mazda confirms the production.
After months of speculation, Mazda has finally confirmed that the Iconic SP Sports Coupe concept car unveiled last year is now becoming a reality.
The concept car, a coupé with a retro-futuristic shape, is probably of an electric motor and a Wankel engine as a range extender.
– This concept is not just one of the empty exhibition cars. It was designed with the real intention of becoming a production model in the not-so-distant future, says Masashi Nakayama, Mazda's design chief.
While there have been hints of a production version, this is the first time Mazda has officially confirmed the plans. Mazda executive Masahiro Moro described the concept as a symbol of Mazda's "commitment to the future" during the presentation at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show.
The final version of the Iconic SP could be a successor to the RX-7 and RX-8 sports cars, but Mazda has also hinted that it could be smaller, about the size of the MX-5 roadster. It is expected that the production model will retain the concept car's clean lines and the characteristic folding lights.
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Naohito Saga, Executive Officer of Mazda's R&D Strategy Planning Division, emphasized the careful design process:
– The more time you spend looking at it, the more the car will reveal to you. Everything from the placement of dores and decks to the length of the undercarriage, the driver's seating position and visibility were carefully examined before the final specifications were determined.
Mazda has not released details on the powertrain of the production model. The concept car has a small wankel engine with two chambers combined with an electric motor that delivers a total output of 365 horsepower.
Mazda claims the range extender can be adapted to run on all forms of CO2-neutral fuel, potentially reducing emissions by up to 90 percent.
– The Wankel engine can be very compact and very powerful at the same time. That is one advantage, but it can also run on different types of fuel, and that can give us an advantage in the race to find a sustainable solution for the mobility of the future, says Saga.
Mazda is also experimenting with a new technology that can capture CO2 from exhaust emissions. If the technology proves effective, "it could play a role in the development of Mazda's future cars."
Earlier this year, Mazda confirmed that a wankel engine project would come to market once certain "technical challenges" were overcome. Hopefully this will coincide with the launch of the production version of the Iconic SP in the coming years.
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