The just-finished Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo was packed with new sports car concepts including a next-gen electric Nissan GT-R, an all-new Honda Prelude and a cool-looking Toyota EV coupe.
But without doubt, the highlight of the bunch was the drop-dead gorgeous Mazda Iconic SP boasting gull-wing doors. Its beautifully proportioned body appears to employ design hints from Ferrari, Aston Martin and even Maserati, but in the end, the total styling execution is all Mazda.
Although many of the over 1,000 foreign media attending the show expressed surprise when they saw the red coupe on stage, the vast majority already knew that Mazda had something up its sleeve when it teased with a sexy sports car coupe called the “Vision Study Model” around a year ago.
That car was rumored to be the next-generation MX-5 Miata, but the concept on stage last week hinted as something very different. Simply put, the new concept is bigger and heavier than the Miata, it’s powered by a rotary powertrain that packs 365 hp, and it has a fixed roof. All of those facts lead us to theorize that this coupe is not a new Miata but a next-gen RX-something, maybe an RX-9.
Let’s look at the details. Firstly, the Iconic SP is significantly larger than the current model Miata, measuring 164.6 inches long, 72.8 inches wide and 45.3 inches tall with a 102 inch wheelbase. That makes it 10 inches longer than the Miata, 4 inches wider, 3 inches shorter while the wheelbase is 11 inches longer. And tipping the scales at 3,197 lbs, the rotary concept is around 850 lbs heavier than the Miata.
As for the powertrain, Mazda says that the Iconic SP’s hybrid engine is similar to that of the MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV production SUV launched last year in selected markets. That powerunit uses a single-rotor rotary engine as a generator to power the electric motor which drives the crossover. While Mazda were remaining tight-lipped about the vast majority of specs for this new concept, they did reveal that the Iconic SP would incorporate a hybrid system that pairs an unspecified number of electric motors with a two-rotor rotary engine—in which that engine is used solely for power generation and does not drive the rear wheels in any way.
But while the MX-30’s rotary hybrid produces 168 hp, Mazda tells us that the radical new coupe pumps out a very healthy 365 hp, which is double that of the most powerful MX-5. Or put another way, the rotary engine which can run on carbon-neutral fuel including hydrogen, can be translated as a range extender that charges the battery.
One other tell-tale sign as to why this new coupe is almost certainly not the next-gen Miata is the fact that it has a fixed roof, a point that was pointed out to me on stage by Masahiro Moro, Mazda’s CEO as he explained the new coupe. Without saying anything that would give the game away, but in so doing, actually hinting where this sports car was headed, Moro said, “So the SP has a rotary hybrid engine that develops a strong 365 hp channeled to the rear wheels. And you will also notice that the car has a fixed roof.”
If you read between the lines, those few phrases say a lot. In contrast to the dozens of international media who were suggesting that the Iconic SP was the next-gen Miata, I’m going to lean towards this car not being a Miata, but instead a next-gen rotary-powered ‘RX-something,’ maybe an RX-9. What Moro told me on the stage hinted strongly that the SP concept—with its 2-rotor rotary hybrid packing twice as much power as a Miata, a fixed roof in contrast to the Miata’s soft-top, and measuring much larger and heavier than the Miata—is not a new Miata that has always been a lightweight sports car from day one.
Yes, Mazda has announced that the next-gen Miata will be electrified to some extent, but from everything the brand has preached over the past 34 years about the Miata remaining a small, lightweight, modestly powered sports car, we expect the new Miata to not exceed 200 hp, remain roughly the same size and merely employ a mild hybrid system to minimize weight. Stay tuned…
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