RX3 Concept Loses Rotary!
 

From http://rotarynews.com/

awesome. :)

I'm only building a two car garage - I don't have room for a third car :(

If you want this thing rotary powered, leave your feedback here:
http://rotarynews.com/comment/reply/713#comment

this car must get the rotary!!!!!!!!! :mad:

start calling Mazda!

star writting at rotarynews.com ,and we need pistures!!!

pictures! pictures! pictures!

I allready have a 6 car garage :ylsuper: the only thing is that is full so one of the fc is going for sale, if mazda makes this car rotary of course.

ZOOM44 maybe we can star a 'SAVE THE RX-3 CAMPAING" a stiky threat so every one can express theyr opinion so that MAZDA can find it easy.

If MAZDA originally had the capacity to provide rotaries to this car, then perhaps one of two things happened.

1 They lost that capacity

2. Perhaps they are diverting those engines elsewhere...

I think they gaing the capacity with RX-8 production slowing down

you Jedi Master you!

Just post comment over at RN.COM... believe me, they'll see it... just like our SAVE THE SEVENS campaign!

-Bern

from the car connection article that bern linked to elsewhere - this is primarily for the NA market with a possibility it could be switched to right hand drive for other countries. i submit that this means it will also be built in the states to avoid the costs of importing it to keep the price low. going with a piston means they dont have to import the engines. i see this going after the cobalts and saturn ion red line thingys as well as the rsx and scion that have been mentioned. so it would need to be easily modded. aftermarket will be much happier getting their hands on a 4 boinger than the rotary.

A lot of truth in these statements... I don't think it will be a NA built car though.

Also, remember that Nissan will be releasing a small coupe too!

-Bern

yeah i was just coming back to rescind the NA built remark. after thinking about it some more i dont see that happening.

We've posted at RN.COM about saving the seven and posted there about making the Mazdaspeed 8 real, but so far it has fallen on deaf ears. Why will this time be any different? Pulling the rotary from this concept car was the last straw! :banghead: But if yanking the rotary from this car means we get more R&D put into the RX-8, so much the better. :anger:

It would be great to see a rotary in a smaller RWD vehicle... would seriously consider getting one as the second car. That said, let me play devil's advocate for a minute --
- I'd want to see better around town fuel economy (weight reduction would probably help here)
- The car would need to be able to babied less (0% risk of flooding)

I'm not sure if that is achievable. Mazda have learnt a lot from the experiences with the '8 - I just hope it's not a case of once bitten twice shy.

Any manufacturer looking at doing something new in the small car market will probably want to appeal to a broader market than just enthusiasts. That said, maybe there is opportunity for a smaller sports car based on a rotary. There isn't much out there at the moment in that class that appeals to me. Holden's offerings don't do much for me. Mitsubishi has lost the plot. Nissan needs to update the Pulsar. Toyota Corolla Sportivo - forget that rice bodykit. Who's buying the Ford Focus in Australia - no-one. Bang to buck ratio on the europeans is too low in Australia.

On the flip side maybe the rotary capacity will go towards a new RX-7 or to a hybrid engine???

There is opportunity for Mazda to do something different in the small car market... I hope they give it a go.

Nothing has fallen on deaf ears... think of it as CORPORATE BIG COMPANY EARS... which is to say that things move slow. There are still R&D studies happening on the RX-8... so only time will tell!

-Bern

bern is right... there are employees in Mazda that listen, and would wish for nothing more than a rotary-only world :) But Mazda is a business, so the bean-counters do get involved... they must make a business case for any and all products, just like any other company out there. It is amazing that this car got as far as it did with comments like those of Batik saying Mazda was basically saturated with sports cars now...

well as i said before- he was the OUTGOING(not gregarious- leaving the company) design guy for a reason;)

So you're basically saying that you would like to buy the Mazda MX-5 with a Renesis.
I know this topic has come up before, but I really do wonder why this is not being considered. Would there be any reason left to choose an S2000 over an MX-5 or RX-5 rather?

Damn, what a travesty!

To be honest, I didn't even know about this concept but now that I see it won't have a rotary, it's quite sad.

Building this car with a Rotary would really make a powerful statement for Mazda. (hint hint wink wink...I know you're reading this)

/waves hand in front of Mazda spies
You will build this car with a Rotary engine.

The rotary is the only thing that could make this car stand out. Slap a four banger in it, and they risk being outdone by someone like Hyundai. Anyone can build a low end, rwd, 4 cyl. coupe, and they will if Mazda sets the precedent. The concept is a good idea...inexpensive, lightweight, decent power, decent mileage, sporty, good handling, some utility. The rotary engine would make it unique. The more popular they can make the Renesis, the better the Renesis can become.

I've read all of the comments here and on rotarynews.com. Many have made some good points. However, if this car looks and cost like is being claimed, it will most likely be my next car (and first new car) regardless of the motor. I would really love another rotary. I miss my RX-7 a lot and yearn for another one. But the market just doesn't have any other affordable rwd sport cars (not convertibles) besides the Mustang.

This "rx-3" will bring a new market to Mazda (unlike the 5 IMO). The market will be bigger if the car has a piston engine. But, you will upset many previous Mazda enthusiasts by not having the rotary....just remember Mazda, your return customer basis isn't too good. If there is no other rotary car in the works, why not utilize the factory's capacity? Have a $16k to $19k (loaded) coupe with the existing 160hp 2.3L or the 170hp 2.0L out of the MX-5, and have an $2k option to get the 4-port with DI (for fuel economy) with 200hp to 210hp. Both markets are satisfied. This new coupe with 210hp may be faster than the RX-8, but they are different markets, so who cares? Or if that is such a problem, leave the DI off to keep the cost down and the power at 197hp.

since the '06 RX-8 only has 6port engines (with the Auto detuned) my guess is it was more cost effective to have one engine...so the 4-port option may be gone

Any lightweight RWD concept is exciting, rotary or not
 

Best case piston scenario is the 2.0L from the MX5. Like most of us, I'd rather pay a bit more for gas and get 230+ hp instead of 170... I was looking forward to something like the RX-01 making it into production and I'm disappointed that they chose to go with a piston engine.

Having written that, if I didn't need four doors, I'd choose a sub-2500 pound, sub-$22k, 170 hp, short-wheel-base, RWD, four-seater over the RX8 (assuming it had the RX8's weight distribution, balance, low yaw moment, excellent brakes, tight steering, and smooth 6-speed).

More RWD cars are certainly needed! That and manual transmissions... just too few of them out in the market today.

so mazda let me get this straight, the miata, a legend is now selling as much as an rx-8 a new model that does not come close in name to the mx-5 miata, and you are planing to sell what basically is a miata coupe? or should you be selling and rx-8 coupe/convertible?

dont get me wrong a piston/rotary mx-3/rx-3 is a great idea, but introduce them at the same time, give the rotary a fair chance, we now the piston engine version will sell more but the rotary will sell well too.

look at it this way 2 birds with one stone a rx-8 coupe and a miata coupe 2+2 everyones happy :rock:

well heres more. basically confirmation of what has been said here.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto...173.A9566.html

I need to find Franz von Holzhausen's phone number and have a Rotary heart to heart on the phone :wink2:

Unfortunately, that article states it's a two-seater. Assuming it's cheaper, lighter, and stiffer, this could supplant the MX5 for many competition events. But while it might become the autocrosser of choice, without rear seats *or* a convertible, it's less of a mainstream vehicle. That makes their decision to forego using the rotary even more puzzling.

Looking forward to getting the details in January.

Could it be the retractable hardtop Miata?
 

According to Autoweek Mazda will be releasing a retractable hardtop Miata this spring.

Kinda like how porsche put in the cayman in between the 911 and the boxter.

^^ but Porsche has name value, higher prices and frankly they are a lower volume manufacturer.

A two seater sports coupe that isn't going to compete in the $40k+ range is pointless.

Yeah i know, i was just saying it might fit into their car line like the cayman did in the porsche line

I think the car line should be like this: base rx-8 ( 5 speed, four port engine like in japan ,mazda wants large sales # right?) rx-8, RX-8 coupe 2 doors( lither faster than normal rx-8), and comvertible, miata and miata coupe ( more power than convertible).

If you allready got a good product you must exploit it to the fullest not introduce a new model, but as I said you can have the two with this car a miata coupe and a rx-8 2 door.

I keep trying to figure out how the financial eggheads at Mazda made a business case for all this (I'm a financial egghead also, so I can say that), as I still don't understand how you can have 3+ sports cars for such a small company. (understand, I'm not complaining, but I can't help looking at the situation from a purely financial basis).

The hypothesis that I am forming is that Mazda must have really gotten the platform sharing side of things down with the Miata/RX8.

The ability to make an RX8, Miata, Miata hardtop covertible, and the new MX/RX3 car must come from there ability to really leverage the platform that underpins the car, so all they are really changing is the outer body panels and some interior bits (yes I'm grossly oversimplfing here, but you get the point). I think Mazda is worried that some of the newer offerings in their segments (think Solstice, other 2+2 coupes) will eat at there market share, thus they have to offer some unqiue products to help sell the platform. Mazda did state that the RX8/Miata platform should last about 10 years, and given its light weight and stiffness I'm willing to believe that.

What I can't quantify is the cost of the marketing, safety testing, training, manuals, spare parts, and other logistics of slightly changing a car and rolling it out as another model. I have to think these costs are not insignificant.

I guess we'll find out just how good Mazda really is at platform sharing and leveraging the RX8. This should be fun.

Ummm...so this is basically a coupe version of the Miata?

<sarcasm> How exciting! </sarcasm>

True dat.

actually, i believe this MX/RX3 is supose to be a 2+2 2-door coupe, I had heard rumors of a Miata coupe also.

So its more than just a miata with a hard top, I guess its a stretched miata or shortened RX8, depending on how you want to look at it.

^ I'm not sure where you read 2+2, but this article says it's a 2-seater:

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto...173.A9566.html

I just hope its not going to be another Precidia MX-3!

Yah, it's a 2 seater.

this isnt a sports car per se- its an entry level coupe to battle against the scion tcs an ion redlines and cobalts etc. it kicks those things butts just by being RWD alone. a sexy skin and decent performance is just icing.

but a 2 seater its not competition for any of this cars theyr all 2+2 and 4 seaters, this is a miata coupe with another skin, the only way around it is if it was rotary or a 2+2

Either way, Mazda needs a low price coupe. Being RWD kicks ass!. Even if it is a reskinned mx-5 (no hard top bs, straight coupe) I would hit it like a fat chick in Krispy Kremes.

MS3 should take care of cobalts, etc. Mazda needs to quit playin around and get to work on the 7/MS8 for NA NOW!

^^ difference in the number of doors and I wonder about price...

^ The MS Protegé was a great car, the MS3 would be a nice replacement provided it is turbocharged. Does mazda have any plans to make a MS3 currently?