(By Tom Lohnes) – Mazda is no stranger to sporty cars. With the Miata still being a huge success 30 years later, the Mazda3 Turbo giving hot hatches a run for their money, and of course the long-dead RX nameplate, they definitely know how to make a fun vehicle. Well, Mazda patented for a new vehicle earlier this week, and it may just revive that dead nameplate.
That’s right folks, the RX car may be returning in the near-ish future. Mazda has very recently filed a patent for a rotary-powered, RWD sports coupe. This may be a new RX vehicle, but I have a different theory. The vehicle in the rendering is obviously just a powertrain diagram, but it shows some interesting things about this upcoming car. For one, it’s a hybrid. A rotary is going into production in 2023 as a range extender for the MX-30 crossover, so it is pretty obvious that Mazda has figured out how to make a Wankel engine work with electricity. But instead of a 1-rotor design that is in the MX-30, this diagram utilizes a 3-rotor, which was only seen in Mazda’s lesser-known sports car, the Cosmo. See where I’m going here?
In Japan, the Cosmo was Mazda’s luxury coupe from the mid 1960’s all the way to 1995 as a flagship model. With Mazda’s move upmarket, it is only right to think that they would have a big luxury coupe, and a revival of the Cosmo would definitely suit that role. Plus, Rotary enthusiasts across the planet would love to see the engine in something even remotely cool, not an electric crossover.
Of course, this is just a patent, so production is not guaranteed. But, If Mazda were to release a full-sized coupe with a Rotary called the Cosmo, you heard it here first.
