https://www.carscoops.com/2024/11/ma...e-near-future/

Quote from Masashi Nakayama, Mazda’s design chief stating "This concept is not just one of those empty show cars. It has been designed with real intent to turn it into a production model in the not-so-distant future.”

Hopefully it's a 3 rotor.

 

I seen somewhere on a FB group that an enthusiast is creating an Rx8 body kit inspired by the SP concept. So far concept images this guy made are pretty dope. Gonna be a full bumper to bumper kit. Maybe we'll get that instead of the new Mazda T_T

 

Its pretty neat but I'm not excited about the rotary engine being paired with an EV system. Just not my style.

 

yay for the SP but hands down for me is the RX-Vision. Sad that thing didn't go in to production.

 

not a fan of ev stuff nor the price tag of the sp

 

Yeah, with the miata being 25-45k I can only imagine the sp or vision would have been priced in the 50-80k range maybe more. While mazda is going more "luxury" they may find it hard for someone to justify 50-80k on a 300hp niche rotary with a niche hybrid system mazda. Especially when a 500hp corvette is the same price point.

It seems they are already having luck going "luxury" as a brand, the RxVision car missed its chance to be the flagship brand page turner. Considering how well they have been doing I doubt they will throw a wrench in the mix to sully the new brand. Its not like the old days when brands would fight cold war style for sports cars.

 

plus i doubt it will have the mandatory to me 3rd pedal

 

I think they would include one, as mazda always went full into the driver experience. Also, since other brands like toyota still brought back the manual supra. Toyota also patented a fake manual transmission for electric sports cars lol.

Luckily I think we are past the ICE engines are doomed and EVs are taking over era. Most Japanese brands are pushing hybrids with talks of hydrogen. American brands flopped in the EV market and will probably just stick with hybrid.

 

I'd rather they make a spiritual successor to Mazdaspeed3 first. Like a Mazda3 Spirit Racing. And keep the Miata alive.

These are infinitely easier to do than this Iconic SP stuff, to which I will just say, seeing is believing.

Like FFS, Hyundai has the Elantra N now. Toyota has woken up with Corolla GR. Crank up the boost, steal a manual trans from Toyota, do some chassis tuning and boom, Mazda3 Spirit Racing.

 

Think the iconic SP is hitting the same demographic as the NSX, Celica, Supra reboots. 90s nostalgia. Which could be good news for those who can afford it. Mazda already has the Miata for midmarket sports minded buyers and the 3 is.. meh? It's hard to see it as a classic.

 

I feel like the gtr was the only real successful reboot. NSX flopped and just seemed like a generic hyper car. The supra was good, but didnt blow anything out of the water being a bmw. The Z competed against itself.

What needed to happen was for each brand to release cars within a few years not over a decade. Only a cold war type scenario could have brought more of the attention to sports cars. Or just a not **** economy

 

Yeah I'm not really down with *how* they were rebooted, except actually the NSX. Commercially, flop, sure, but it feels the truest to the original. The Supra is just badge engineering, huge turn off. We'll see what happens with the Celica. Add to the list the 400z which is also underwhelming... to do this right, Mazda needs to make an FD but not. Modern Porsche fighter. It will probably only last a few years, but it will have done its job of having a halo car again. If they can do that AND introduce something novel that will outlive the reboot itself and start a new legacy they can pepper on future models, that would be a true achievement.

 

Yeah, but with the EV range extender drivetrain it's rumoured to have... It's going to be a hard sell. That will just feel like Mach-E, or the new electric Charger.

Mazdaspeed3/Mazda3 SR is not meant to be "classic", but an affordable fun option. It's also **** easy to engineer compared to an Iconic SP - just needs to modify an existing platform. Honestly, the hardest part is probably the manual trans, but they can just buy it from Aisin/Toyota. The manual tranny in my Mazdaspeed3 is an Aisin anyway.

Again, Hyundai has the Elantra N, and Toyota has the Corolla GR. These used to be toaster brands. We are waiting, Mazda.

Bonus that, if the Mazda3 SR is capable, that's the most effective STFU to anyone doubting the rear torsion beam. See Megane RS.

As for modern Porsche fighter, forget about it. That was in Bubble Economy when Japanese car manufacturers engineered first and only then thought about how to go about and sell them. Being under Ford was a bitter experience that taught Mazda to not do this type of stuff again.

 

I feel like *because* the N and GR (+Golf, etc)exist, getting into competition isn't really worth it. I don't think there's enough market for all of them and even if you win the market, it's not huge. Everything is moving toward utility, not so much performance. So the people you're likely to attract with the sp pitch grew up with performance in mimd

 

Got any links/pictures to this? Can't seem to find much about it.