I didn't suggest it's the new 7 - I suggested it might be an engineering prototype for a new RX-7 convertible. The new RX-7 Concept car (a coupe) was ready last fall, but was withdrawn from the Tokyo Motor Show at the last minute.

There have been many rumours, reported in lots of the magazines over the past year, that Mazda is going to develop a convertible rotary - either RX-8 or RX-7. I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of a convertible version of the next RX-7 so quickly!

Please read the thread - we've already discussed that engineering prototypes are frequently disguised with body panels that bear no resemblance to the final production version. The car is built for testing the mechanicals, and the appearance doesn't matter to the engineers at all. We've already pointed out that the rear 2/3rds of this car's bodywork is from an NB Miata - so of course it's using Miata taillights! That has nothing to do with what chassis, suspension, etc. might be hidden beneath those obviously tacked-on body panels.

Regards,
Gordon

 

they can test out the powertrain and suspension all they want. they can slap it on an eastern european lady and have her drag it around the track for all i care. what matters is that the rx7 is coming. i for one believe gord. nay, i HAVE to believe him, for the sake of my sanity

 

They are photoshopped, look at these magnifications

 

whoops, my new nose job doesn't fit

 

the hood is falling off.

 

what happened hear? guys they are fakes now I'm not saying the car may not exist but this one doesn't.

 

By the way how could you get plates on this so called mule?

 

HMM.... I THINK THE SMUDGE ON THE DOOR IS A CHOP. PROBABLY TO GET RID OF SOME WORDS OR NUMBERS ON THE DOORS.

 

(Etc.)

Horse, READ what has been written about engineering test mules - of course the body panels don't fit!!!! They're not supposed to look pretty, they bear no resemblance to any planned production vehicle - those highlights of yours just prove that it's an engineering test mule - they show exactly where the bodywork from the donor car is hacked to fit over the test chassis underneath. It's not supposed to be a show car!!! That's not a photoshop hack job, it's an engineering hack job. YOU helped prove it!

Re - plates. The Nurburgring test track is actually a public road. In Europe, manufacturers are permitted to license prototypes for testing on public roads - every spy shot of a prototype undergoing testing at the Nurburgring will show a German license plate (by the way, those are German plates on that white test mule, and those photos were taken at the Nurburgring).

Regards,
Gordon

 

The Miata test mule I speak of is in the March 2001 issue of Road and Track somewhere around pages 46-49. I have the issue burried in my archives (crawlspace). I'll see if I can find it.

Horse, I think you're missing the point. This car is what a test mule usually looks like. A Frankenstein sort of car where nothing fits right. They are testing the new chassis and slap whatever body parts on that will fit. The point everyone is arguing is if this is a photoshopped test mule or the real deal. I say it's real.

 

SOMEONE ON THE MIATA FORUM WAS JUST REJECTING THE IDEA THAT IT IS A RX8 FRONT. SOMETHING ABOUT MASKING IN CERTAIN PLACES AND WASHER JETS ON THE HOOD. COULD THIS NOT BE AN 8 FRONT END?

 

NEVER MIND. IT IS IT'S JUST CHOPPED UP A BUNCH TO FIT THE CHASIS IT'S ON.

 

It sure looks like an RX-8 front end, the hood even has the rotor-shaped depression at the back centre, and the headlights are intact as far as I can tell. The oil cooler/fog light openings are masked off, though...

I don't think there's any doubt that it's a real engineering test mule, not a photoshop job. The REAL question is whether it's an NC MX-5 test mule or an RX-7 convertible test mule?

Regards,
Gordon

 

I SAID NEVER MIND GORDO!

 

Just because someone photoshopped an image, it does not mean that the image is not based on reality.

i.e. digitally altered does not denote digitally created.

You people need to chill out a little, I dont think anyone here has come out and said that the entire thing is a complete fabrication.

 

The RX8 in my sig was photoshopped

 

I found it... Check out the butcher job on the back.

And Zoom44, WHY ARE YOU YELLING IN EVERY POST?

 

NO! I won't believe it...my rx8 has ALWAYS been gorgeous. It was not spawned from that abomination!

 

stupid question.
if this is a mule, and body stuff has no meaning,why does everyone think that it's some sort of mule for a convertible? isn't just as likely a mule for a regular hard top which is just using a miata top as a spare part?
and another one. why not a RX8 convertible? If I were Mazda, and I was going to bring back the 7 I would go with a pure hi tech muscled sports car. Leave the convertible for the more ambiguous 8. just my .02
I hope I wear out the 8 in time for a new 7!!!!

 

BECAUSE I NEED TO HAVE MY CAPS LOCKED FOR THIS PROGRAM AT WORK AND TODAY I DECIDED I WASN'T SWITCHING BACK AND FORTH. at least until someone mentioned it. so you win the prize! see meowloud for whatever you have won anyway that's not the pic i am thinking of. i tried looking on the mazda japan website earlier. there used to be some pics/vids on that site which showed an RX8 mule undergoing suspension testing on some kind of machine. it was a butchered up white job. also i think they used/showed the same one when doing the ergonomic engineering of the freestyle doors. remember that vid of the japanese girl opening and closing the door multiple times with all sorts of sensors hooked up to her and the door? also i think the white mule was shown at Sevenstock.

 

Gord and PaulieWalnuts,
You guys are carzy if you think that this choped together car would even work. Lets say it's real and the lines aren't photoshops but are panels, they would fall off as I pointed out the hood, nose and fender flares don't fit, they would flat out fall off. Besides even if the were tied on with the mechanics shoelaces
what kind of results could you get from a car that is falling apart and flapping in the wind, even if it's to test something else. And why would someone go throught the trouble of tying, welding, fitting all the parts together from all these different cars to go on a Miata body. If it's really just a mule couldn't they just put it on a modified Miata. I saw photos ofthe Eclipse E-concept mule, it was just a modified eclipse body with some tarps thrown over, not an Evo nose job that looked photshopped.

 

Okay horse, you're right. Gord and I, along with the hundreds of engineers who produce dozens of these things annually, are crazy.

 

Nope, not a stupid question. The body stuff that doesn't matter is just the exterior panels - the structure underneath IS critical. Coupes/sedans (ie fixed roof vehicles) and convertibles are engineered very differently - for a coupe, the roof structure is critical, ie you couldn't just chop the roof off a coupe to disguise it for testing, because the chassis would be significantly different - the stiffness/rigidity and weight are quite different, especially for convertibles where it depends if the structure starts out specifically engineered to be roofless or is adapted from a coupe, with the roof cut off and the chassis reinforced to compensate (a convertible designed from the start to be roofless will be significantly lighter than a coupe with a roof-ectomy that is stiffened to compensate).

As for why not an RX-8 convertible (ie 4 seats, 4 doors) - the RX-8 structure relies on the B pillar engineered into the rear doors, and tied together through the roof structure, for the stiffness and rigidity to meet side impact regulations. Without the B pillar tied together through the roof, the door configuration on an RX-8 convertible could never be made strong enough to pass the side impact requirements (this is also the reason why a "lambo doors" conversion on an RX-8 is a really stupid idea). To meet side impact regulations on a convertible, the RX-8 chassis would need to have the door opening be significantly shorter, ie a 2 door. I suppose they could make it 2 doors with 4 seats... but I would not expect them to go that way, just my guess.

Regards,
Gordon

PS - Horse, now YOU are well into stupid question territory! Look, it's pretty obvious that you have no idea how automobile manufacturers go about their development process and are completely unfamiliar with the use of chassis and engineering mules. You might consider learning something from people who do have some knowledge in this area, rather than continuing to speak from ignorance? Sorry if that sounds rude, but it's well-intentioned advice. You're wrong.

 

Reading the article, all it says is that it is a test mule for the new Miata. So what's with all the conjecture about the RX-7? And how reliable is this souce? I'VE never heard of them...doen't mean they aren't credible, but... This is how rumors get started.

Sometimes when you want (RX-7) something so bad (RX-7), you start to see signs of it coming (RX-7) even when (RX-7) it isn't there! (RX-7 convertible)