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The Mazda Iconic SP sports car with a rotary engine was presented as a concept exactly one year ago. Now the chief designer of the brand, Masashi Nakayama, has confirmed that it will have a serial version, and you won't have to wait long for it - production will be launched "in the distant future." According to unofficial data, already in 2026.
A rotary motor, that is, a Wankel motor, has both advantages and disadvantages. Among the pros are the compact size and power, and the cons are fuel consumption, increased toxicity of exhaust gases, and short life. The disadvantages outweighed the advantages, which caused the refusal of car companies to produce cars with such a unit.
Mazda hasn't produced a rotary-powered car since 2012, when the last RX-8 rolled off the assembly line. At the beginning of 2023, the automaker presented the first car in many years with a rotary engine as part of a hybrid installation, the MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV crossover.
And in the fall of the same year, the Iconic SP debuted. Its main feature, in addition to the design with classic proportions, was the two-piston rotary engine, which acts as an electricity generator, that is, it is not connected to the wheels. At the time of the premiere, Mazda disclosed only the output of the installation, which is 370 hp.
