Road and Track has the Mazda Kabura Concept car on the April cover (It came in the mail today.)

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=3238

They are speculating that this concept may be the prototype for the next Rx7 since it is based on the MX-5 (read RX-8) platform and would be positioned between the RX8 and MX-5. Nothing about engine but if they are going to keep it cheap they will probably go for lighter weight rather than turbo power.

The link contains part of the article and a video. Enjoy and speculate!

 

Great thanks for the post. The little video of the car was great. It has some really cool features (at least as a concept). But boy would I hate to get a crack in my windshield on this car.

 

 

Nice vid, but old pics on that page.

 

That's gonna be the new Rx-7?

 

I like the ipod holder idea.

 

I like the rims too.

 

The back kinda looks like a Mazda 3 and the front is def 8 ish. The roof is 350z ish what'd ya think?

 

This should be a good debate.

The lightweight purists vs. the supercar mafia.

so what really defines RX7 for you? Is it the 1st gen or the 3rd gen?

 

the side has a certain 240z-ness to it. If they put a rotary in it I'd be tossing up between it and the RX8 in 2yrs

 

"ness"....I like that better that "ish" i think

 

i like it.. but if they placeda rotory in it.. it'll draw sales away from the 8.

but with that inline-4 im sure there iwll be a lot more aftermarket parts for that compared to the 8.

 

Put a rotary in it, and you have a guaranteed sale from me. Take out the back seats and keep it around 2,700 pounds and I'll buy a Mazda 3 as a bonus!

 

Whats the word on HP #'s? If any

 

And if they put a piston in it..it"ll draw sales away from the Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 and MX-5.

 

FD, nothin else is a better example of the rotary in my eyes. Sure it had some issues, but a great car nonetheless

 

I doubt a rotary will ever be in this car.

 

Probably true - Mazda at Detroit Show listed the powertrain as I4. We can talk up a 12B - but unlikely.

Still would like to get a small car for family based on this concept - fingers crossed.

 

The show car had a DI version of the 2.0L MZR out of the MX-5. Supposedly, the engine was making 190hp.

 

Well why couldnt they offer both? Give people the option for either more performance or better economy. Or run a MS version with a rotary. Anyway, I like the looks of the car and if they can keep it simple, low weight than it should be a good little car.

 

Because Mazda needs a reliable cheap entry level sport compact car that gets decent mpg.

 

the article in the print issue is a bit longer and more descriptive, all of which still falls under the cloud of speculation.

They did say that they suspect Mazda put the I4 in the car to hide the fact that this could be the next rx7 and that it was designed using the platform to fit a rotary. So its interesting, but still speculative, but the article had a very rx7 slant to it.

 

This must be getting pretty hard for Mazda to ignore if the concept is even making the cover of major magazines.

It must have the rotary to be an RX designation, otherwise it would be an MX-7. Personally, I don't care if it has pistons and a rotary option.

 

Mx-3

 

or MX-4 or just Mazda 4