New Mazda RX-9 Sports CarLONDON — Mazda is "well advanced" in the development of a new sports car that is "likely to be called RX-9" and would be powered by a new-generation supercharged rotary engine.
According to Britain's Autocar, the so-called RX-9 is a two-door coupe, "built in the image of the most recent RX-7," unlike the current Mazda RX-8, which has a complicated four-door configuration.
The RX-9 is expected to share major chassis components with the next-generation MX-5 roadster, according to Autocar. Its new rotary engine, designated 16X, will be larger than the 2.6-liter twin-rotor unit in the RX-8, fitted with an electric supercharger and developing more than 300 horsepower. Mazda still has not decided whether the new engine will run on gasoline or hydrogen.
