jisidoro

I just came across this website.. I'm a big fan of the rotary
engine.. especially the cosmo 20B :^).. I was thinking about
the new Renesis motor and remember being blown away
that such a small engine can create so much horsepower.

The thing I don't get is.. why aren't they putting this puppy
into a miata, and making a 10Lb/HP beast.. That would
be a phenominal car.. 10 years of tuning on a lightwieght
chassis, and now, the perfect motor for it.. Call it the
__RX-5__ Miata. And give the M-coupe a run for its money....
for around half the price..

AFAIK the rotary contains fewer parts and is cheaper to produce than a conventional engine. The normally asperated 2nd gen rx7
seemed to be a very durable car. The right setup at the dealers
could make replacing the Apex Seals as easy as chaning a
timing belt.. (ok maybe I'm exagerating this one a bit :^))
And the newest Renesis based cars should have decent mileage..

I'm really surprised they dont
put this engine into their other cars. how about an
RX-3 protege... For all those who complained about the 140hp
2.0ltr engine.. There's mazda's answer to the wrx/ matrix XRS fighter right there! Cmon' Mazda, justify that flashy yellow
paint ;^) !!

Mazda... you've got the silver bullet... time to use it..


Oh yeah... and knock about 500 lbs off the weight of the RX8..
Don't shoot yourself in the foot like honda did with the 2800lb s2000.

fuz

I think they will put a rotary in the next gen miata. The time and cost investment to put a rotary in the miata now is probably not possibe with the current development of the 6 and the RX-8. It'd be awesome if they did in the next gen miata. It'd blow away the competition if they got 250hp into that go kart.

2800 is quite light by today's standards. I think that getting to that point in itself would be pretty hard for a car the size and utility of the RX-8. The RX-7 may be easily possibe, but I'd be happy with 2800 with the RX-8; though 2900, no. Get me the weight of the current Celica (2500), and I'd be estatic.

Rich

I'm just going to cut and paste my response to this question from another thread, very slightly modified. This link is where it came from. Keep in mind, I'm playing devil's advocate here a bit. I agree that there would be huge benefits from doing it, but I can also see the business case problems from Mazda's standpoint.

There are a few reasons people think that the Miata won't have a rotary. Bob Hall is the generally acknowledged "father" of the Miata, and he's said that it's not going to happen any time soon. That doesn't explain why it won't happen, but does explain why there is extreme skepticism that it will happen. The reasons that I think Mazda won't do it is that they've been incredibly successful so far with an I4, the plans for the NC Miata are rumored to be well underway and too far along to change to the rotary, and to keep the Miata from competing with the RX-8/7 convertibles.
If Mazda came out with a RENESIS powered Miata, what's the point of spending nearly twice as much for an RX-7 convertible? The Miata is already one of the best handling cars available, and if it did 0-60 in under 5.0 seconds, there's no reason to step up. Since Mazda is adamant that they will keep the weight down in the Miata and continue to keep it affordable, I just can't see the business case for a rotary Miata that wouldn't hurt the sales of their other cars.

I think that the talk of a Miata based on the RX-8 platform should be interpreted as indicating that there will be a convertible RX-8/7, not a rotary Miata.

The Miata is just about the only thing Mazda has had going for it since the RX-7 left. It has one of the most fanatical followings of any modern car. I would think that Mazda would be extremely conservative in anything they do to it.

...Back to this thread...

There's another reason it's unlikely to happen. The Miata's raison d'être is as a lightweight, great handling, inexpensive RWD roadster. Once you add 100 bhp, you dramatically increase the demands on the brakes, suspension, tires, clutch, etc. Generally, adding capability in these areas is either expensive or heavy. That goes against the philosophy behind the Miata. It's true that the basic platform is such a capable performer that some power could be added without additional cost, but it would still need to be done from a marketing and liability perspective.

So, while there is a small group of people that would kill for a rotary Miata, there are a number of reasons Mazda is unlikely to make one.