At its peak in 1972 Mazda sold 1.6 million rotary engined cars.

Since then there been a steady decline, other than a temporary plateau when the SA/FB was sold. The RX-8 has been a marketing and financial disaster, more a fiasco then a flagship.

There is a strong possibility the RX-8 will be dropped in the next two years as sales are further declining. In all honesty, the rotary engine is not a selling point. While it is light and compact, the rotary is inefficient in terms of fuel consumption which is becoming an ever important consideration. The small capacity of the 13B of 1.3 litres is a Mazda myth, in Japan its rated as 2 litre, in Europe 2.6 litres while some engineers say 3.9 litres. As conventional engines have improved, there is little need to use the more expensive rotary to generate the same power.

We would all like to see the gen 1 brought back as a light weight cheap 'sports car'. The problem is gen 1s can be bought for $500, and even a mint low mileage one can be bought for $6,000. How many on the forum would go out and spend $20,000 plus on a new hot hatch just because it has a rotary? There are some 45,000 gen 1s still in existence, not much of a market when Mazda would need to sell far more than that a year to justify introducing a new FB.

So is the rotary engine doomed, and will the SA/FB be the last of the lightweight rotary powered affordable sports cars?

 

ive been wondering the same thing. It would be great if mazda could bring back something that was rotary and not ugly. I think that if the car was cheap and well powered people would not have a problem dropping some money on it.

 

Well, since mazda has created a 13b powered rx8 that runs of some other fuel(i think it was hydrogen) I think it might have more of a future than you may think.

 

With me, it may not happen since I have enough parts to build say five to seven 4-port 13-B motors.

 

Any gas engine can be converted to run on hydrogen, the problem is readily available fuel stations.

 

No.

Ray

 

you ask a valid question. the answer is: who knows?
on one hand, it's survived this long and the foundation of those that are true enthusiasts is pretty strong. on the other hand, people in this country are fickle. obviously i can't speak for the rest of the world, but i believe all it would take is a few whispers in a Wall Street boardroom or maybe a retarded movie or music video that makes an Rx-7 or Rx-8 it's centerpoint and it would spark a bovine "follow-the-others" response that could actually breathe life back into it.

i know. i know. not likely to happen, but possible. i'm old enough to remember when Rx-3s and Rx-7s ruled the local races back home and if there was an Internet and an Rx7Club back then and someone said "man, Honda Civics are going to rule!" who would have given credence to that notion?

as for this ... if Mazda built a car that could be contemporary, but still capture the spirit of the original Rx-7s, then i'd spend $20K, $30K and more to have it. i love them that much. again, not likely to happen in an age where cold leather seats in the winter are enough to dissuade someone from buying a car - so i've resigned myself to building my own.

 

Where did you get the idea that the RX-8 was a "distaster"? It got excellent reviews from almost every publication, car of the year/engine of the year/etc, and sold quite well. I could see someone saying the 3rd gen RX-7 was a "fiasco", but the RX-8? Hardly.

Don't forget the popular and growing Formula Mazda series, all powered by Renesis motors. Mazda is doing great on the track and the sales floor right now, so cheer up.

 

I was thinking the samething. Road and track said it was one of the best, most fun to drive and perfectly balanced imports to date. "lots of bang for the buck".

 

The answer is No.

Ray

 

Well, not to get a big stink started over the RX8, but didn't the plant building the 8s burn down? This was the info I was given not too long ago. I piont blank asked a local Mazda dealer, and they said it was true. Any confirmations on that people? As far as the decline of the rotory, I think most people don't understand it, so they don't give it a chance. Anyone checked out the Quasiturbine engine? Very intruiging.

 

The production level is currently about 38% of the forecast level when the figures were worked out to justify producing the RX-8 from the concept car RE-EVOLV. Unfortunately for Mazda, sales by Nissan have creamed the market. I am not sure of the situation in your local market, but you should be able to compare sales for each car for calendar year 2005.

The cost of tooling up for a new model is staggering, and is a major component of unit cost. If your sales prediction is significantly out, even with built in contingencies, losses mount geometrically. The reason Mazda were so successful with the Miata was the platform was based on the 323, and the sales figures later justified major development. It was a case of the egg coming before the chicken!

While the Formula Mazda series is successful, the number of cars involved is only a fraction of a day's production. So directly it has minimal impact on sales. At present it has apparently not indirectly impacted on sales, possibly because the average person buying a RX-8 is not interested in the sport.

 

OMG I would go out and spend 27.000 dollars for a RX-7


As long as they use all new parts. boy would that be great.

 

make that 1st gen

with modern heat seats and better radio : D

 

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were all gonna be buying RX-8's in the future.

just think. when I hit 40

im 16 now

I Can restore a RX-8 wahoooo

 

The coating of engine parts has come a long way in recent years.
It seems to me that the Wnkel could benefit from some of these coatings even more than piston engines do.
Ceramic coated rotors with moly impregnated sides could improve thermal efficiency improving fuel mileage and reducing heat load on the oiling system. Maybe chrome housings and moly edges on the apex seals could help as well.
Has anyone tried coatings in a rotary?

Dennis L. Cote

 

http://www.jhbperformance.com/products/ that What you are talkin about?..and by the way..GOOD Cars Never DIE!!...look at how many People Like us keep Resurrecting Them!

 

we still have cars from the 1940's

the 70's and 80's arent going anywhere

 

No. The BF/BG Chassis (323, Protege, MX3, Escort) and the Miata's NB chassis are complete polar opposites. The only thing shared between the 323 and the Miata are the rear drive system found in the AWD 323s... and the hardware used throughout the car. Nothing else is the same.

 

Out of interest where did the soft top Ford Capri fit in?

 

hi, and thanks..

oh and the seven will never die!!

vw beetle is a good example

 

paul check your pm's.....

as far as capri fitting in....... what about festiva? same motor, not turbo like the capri gt models tho.. thats the capri gt your speaking of, right

 

The Festiva engine was only from the same family of engines as the Capri.

As far as how the Capri fits in, I believe it shared the same drivetrain and running gear as the FWD BF chassis cars (1986-89), but the chassis was significantly different because it was a convertible. I'm not too sure though because they never sold them in Canada, where I live.

 

Brief response sent, let me know if you need more details.

 

Thanks for the information, I will have to buy Takaharu Kobayakaua's book. Just read some background notes, it certainly was a long time from the 729 concept car, to the 84 v705 protype, to the first production version.