I just read an article asking "who should partner with Caterham ". That looks like an interesting fantasy for a rotary heart. They seem to be looking at an fr na entry. I may cross some ethical purists code by thinking of that union but they are looking for a 40k sports car offering. This just sounds too good not to consider all the directions this could go.

 

Well, at least Caterham WANTS to do a project like this. It's interesting to think about, but I fully believe Mazda by themselves could put out a proper 40k sports car and make money on it (even at low volume) if they wanted to.

 

The problem with Mazda is they already have the MX-5, which makes money without the rotary drama. If you want to come in at $40k, above the Z, you better be doing something better than a Z. But if you can make a better car than a Z, you've reached Cayman/M2-M3 territory, so you have to offer more for the same money, which is hard.
I'm sure some people would buy it, but enough to make it profitable? And enough profitable that it returns more on the investment than just upgrading the Miata?

So IMO, you end up needing to make a 911-fighter, like the FD was, just to have a competitive product that also makes money at low volume. Mazda can pull it off, but I don't know a rotary can.

But you're right that if you're not Mazda and you don't already have the MX-5, it makes tons of sense to short-run affordable track day machine, which is a good fit for a rotary.

 

True...but after following what is being discussed in the "vision " thread, I think this could get the next rotary in the market as a low production vehicle so it could possibly circumvent all that tree hugging cafe crap. An added bonus would be being able to capitalize on the light weight, track oriented design philosophy that Caterham is known for...Turn that over to a group of foaming at the mouth rotary racing engineers at mazda and you may just spawn some freak of nature. I don't think that Caterham could produce a 100,000 units ( or whatever these auto giants cost effective minimums are) so maybe they could track a similar business model as the supercar manufacturers. I don't see any of them shooting for 40 mpg. I know they are playing with the hybrid band wagon, but the rest of there mainstream models aren't. I would like to continue to babel on, but I really don't know jack about the inner workings of the automotive industry and would hate to see this thread turn into another sh**storm of incompetence and bickering. comically and sadly, I have read more than one sh**storm thread during this forums 13 year run.

 

Didn't know you posted loki, I peck REALLY slow on this tablet lol

 

I think there aren't excuses for Mazda not carrying on the rotary sports car, but solid, analytical reasons. Mazda likely knows they can't make a viable production rotary sports car that can compete performance wise and still be economically viable with the established models already being mass produced.

They're not going to make a vehicle that is expensive, less efficient and comparably powered as it's competitors unless it will be a high performance sports car with some uniquely engineered platform unlike anything else.
I think if it ever becomes a reality, it'll be a six figure niche model.

 

You are probably correct, it does pose a daunting task for a 1.3-6 litre to compete in the 4-6 litre market full of heavy hitters. I thought it would make a good " mule " car for real world testing