ugghhh, this is why its almost impossible to have an objective design discussion here on this forum, everyone here thinks the FD is the greatest car ever designed ever ever ever, and the bestestest engineered car evar, ughhh its almost like you guys havent driven any other sportscar in the last 15 years...
No one is going back to super overhaning bumper, no one will ever see popups ever again, and most likely(but still the best chance nostalgist have) we won't see a door handle built into the b/c pillar.

I'm not picking on you solely, but the sheer ignorance and lack of knowledge of current car design on the forum is astonishing given how many so called car nuts are here.

 

I don't understand why you feel we will never see a B pillar doorhandle ever again. I could see your other two points being true though.

 

If they can pull that off, that will be amazing! If the rumored turbo engine makes 450hp and the weight comes in at 2850, that's 6.3lbs per hp. Not bad at all!

 

Gosh... You know what? You're right... I just looked around and it seems like I must be simply misguided. ALL the rage now is adding UGLY ******* HANDLES in the middle of clean space on modern sports cars. Looking higher in this page are a few prime examples of putting obtrusive handles in the middle of otherwise gorgeous cars. The contrast REALLY brings out the beauty of....EVERYTHING ELSE!

Sorry man, just because the RX-8 had ugly door handles, and you're cool with that, doesn't mean that the next gen rotary (which is clearly taking design queues from the FD) should.

If you don't like the general opinion of 3rd gen RX-7 owners then maybe.... Don't look in the 3rd gen section of an RX-7 Forum! Just a thought..

 

^^ This ( In response to Rotr8 )

This is a great design exercise but obviously being a concept, a lot of details were distorted or left off entirely. As long as they can keep the basic premise of this design, then i think they have a winner. Mazda has the best design language out of all the Japanese makers IMO but to somehow remake the FD would be redundant for such a forward looking company.

 

I own an FD, sold my 8, had an RX3 Wagon, but that's just the elitest attitude I am pointing out. There are a whole slew of horrible design characteristics with the FD as well as every car made. What I'm say is that its much more likely to use given ques out of the current "parts bin" rather than looking back to a by gone era of parts. Its much more economical and reliable to use the current pull handle. The old ones broke, siezed and were expensive to replace, whats your argument? it looks cooler? that's not very reasonable when considering the last few production features that we'll see come about over the life-cycle transition to the production line.

something like the SRT Viper handles might work, but I dont think are reasonable given the price point of this car.

 

I completely agree with that, especially when it comes to the entire Mazda fleet. There are two kinds of concept exercises that OEM execute. The first is debuting a car that will establish next generation design language(Furia) for the entire fleet. The second is when they want to establish the designing language for a particular vehicle that fits into a current fleet design language(RX-Vision). And that's why its a safer bet to think that this car is near ready for production in the conceptual sense, now its all about finishing the little details. Mazda and Porsche excel at these two more than any other OEM.

 

I never claimed that the FD was the pinnacle of design, just pointing out that putting a door handle that looks like it was borrowed from their economy model is ugly as hell.

Obviously they managed to make a handle that's functional and isn't an eyesore. Obviously many of the cars they are looking to compete with have also managed to open and close doors without sticking eyesores in the middle of their doors.

You're pissing on the idea of having both form AND function, and then suggesting they pull scraps left over from their lineup of commuter cars as if that's somehow superior... While ALSO trying to compare it to "any other sportscar in the last 15 years"... Have you looked at the other cars in the genre the new rotary will be competing with? Not a whole lot of obvious door handles...

Sticking the door handle from the Miata on the concept car is ugly, that's it. My post was intended to suggest nothing more, nothing less.

Take your projections of elitist attitudes (which is kinda hypocritical, since YOU are the one that started with complaining about not being able to have objective design discussions, inferring that our opinions are all somehow less important than your own) and stick them elsewhere.

 

I do recall reading that, percentage-wise, there were very few universal or carry-over parts in the FD—i.e.: "parts bin" stuff used on other models.

That's great, but it also contributes to cost/sustainability. I'd like to see this model SUCCEED, if that means a parts bin door handle, I can probably live with that.

 

Uhm... The handles break for one simple reason: It's made of plastic. There is a very easy solution to that.


Edit-
To be honest, you seemed to respond quite over the top for a simple comment that fendamonkey made.

 

Welcome to the internet, home of less censorship than the real world to include self censorship. Enjoy your stay.

The door handles are a damn eyesore on the car though and not helping its aerodynamics at all.

 

ok here goes
some people are criticizing the long frond end ....here is my take on it ,Fujiwara said the ,and i quote "the engine is a continuation of the work on the 16X " end quote.....no where have they stated that this is a 2 rotor .....now i know this is speculation , but could the extra space in the long nose be for a 3 (or god forbid ) 4 rotor based of the 16X ???
we know that in this they and age you need those ponies to compete , and we can also speculate that its heavier than an FD (because of the dimensions) so would it be a stretch to think we might need more power to push all that weight ......the 16X is taller than the 13B but its also shorter , so why such a long hood .
Mazda is always been function before form although form is very high on their list , function/weight etc is higher ....so could the long nose be for a "longer " engine .........

just my 2 cents

 

Makes you wonder if they wouldn't also be able to deactivate a rotor (or two) for improved fuel consumption when the vehicle doesn't need all the power... that could help them meet fuel requirements, and it *should* be totally doable with modern ECU technology combined with some clever valves in the intake and exhaust manifolds... would really only need to worry about maintaining lubrication to the deactivated rotor without fouling the plugs..

 

Yeah, why would enthusiasts here love their cars and want to see something new with a similar design?

Get over yourself dude, of course there's going to bias here.

 

Electric door handles... as for the Door handle debate you guys do realize that alot of modern cars dont have the pulley lever system anymore INSTEAD they have electric door handles so it doesnt NEED to be there it could be hidden a button you press and pull on some kind of lever ..




and AS FOR THE BIG !! THING , THAT HUGE HOOD . Yes its massive ..

But I was thinking what if its turbo charged 2 rotor , and the exhaust is diverted forward for the turbo to be infront of the engined . what about the intercooler and all taht , what if wit hthe long hood line it manages to keep all the turbo / intercooler weight BEHIND the front wheels . BUT lower on the car .


ORRR MY PERSONAL FAVORITE IDEA ! 3 triangles

 

The longer hood and the staggered wheel sizes (with 285s on the rear) might hint at more than N/A 2 rotor power. I hope you're right as I've had more than my fill of 2nd gen & RX-8 family sedan-like ponies.

 

The Shinari and Takeri also had long hoods. The Mazda 6 doesn't. I think it's a kodo artifact.

 

Has anyone considered that the long hood could be because of some type of factory v-mount ? I am hoping and praying for a 3-rotor like everyone else but there could be other explanations for the long hood like the cooling system or crash safety requirements. In other news BMW just introduced a new M4 that comes with water injection and is supposedly good for 60 more horses.

 

If this car makes it to production I am all in. I have no complaints over what has been revealed so far. No trunk space, longer than average hood, door handles, who cares???? LOL

This version is drop dead sexy, exactly what the follow up to the FD3S should have been. I always though the Rx8 was a step in the wrong direction. There have been so many teasers over the years I still have doubts that this will be produced, I'll change my mind when I see them at the dealerships where I will be one of the first in line to buy.

I would like to get a look at the business end.

 

Ironically, he's been here on the 7club since LONG before the current level of kid gloves and "play nice with the newbs" was a norm.

I don't think you need to coach Montego on how internet forums can be a harsh mistress, as he was around when this place really WAS for those with thick skin!!

 

Yes , keeping fingers crossed for a 3rotor , Honestly i believe a 3 rotor should be easier to achieve , think about it , and yes i know its not just that simple ,but if you iron out all the problems with the 2 rotor (longevity , emissions etc etc ) the technology to convert to 3 rotor shouldn`t be that difficult , that technology already exists ,(shaft ) .
I know this is just a concept and we all might be wrong , this could be a design element as stated above , but it sure would be great , if this thing is a 3 rotor (turbo or not) and its pumping about 400 to the wheels ( i think that's more or less the number you need to have these days to be around the in crowd ) i would buy it NOW .
The styling is sublime , some tweaks needed to make it more realistic needed , but all in all Mazda nailed this bitch shut , honestly i didn't think they could pull of a better design than the FD (that still looks good by today's standards ) but i think they pulled it off
now its just a question of the engine , i really really hope they managed to develop a 3 rotor version of the 16X , 24X ???? the thought is killing me, come on Mazda time to bring back the 7 with a vengeance

 

There is no one on this thread who's opinion I value more then Rotr8 in terms of design.

 

This is why its so hard to discuss styling. Styling isn't something that is objective, by its very nature its subjective. Hell most times styling tries to go against function and the ensuing discussion between styling and design groups can be entertaining and terrible at the same time, when things like this part needs more surface tension comes into play xD, and no justifiable reason other than styling experience... There is no where in the world that you can fully look at styling objectively, as styling's main purpose is to evoke some sort of emotion or feeling, and those aren't objective subjects.

On a side note I'm hoping for a small electric turbo for low end with a large single turbo for everything else on the hopefully upcoming RX platform.

 

Its been said that this concept model its big and in production dimensions it will be smaller somewhere near the Porsche Cayman dimensions.
Well my opinion its just keep it with a big hood as we saw it and instead of a skyactive 16x rotary engine place an 32X 4 rotor sky active rotary engine with a huge single turbo setup!! bigger car, bigger power, bigger torque, bigger all
And with this setup say bye bye to all competitors including GTR'S Ft1'S even lambos and ferraris

 

Actually that's not true at all. But I'd rather avoid that specific conversion of foundations of design and styling and why those two things are even different terms in the first place, especially with the mob mentality on this forum. I should have have understood that yesterday, but I just got way too excited from the release event, and forgot that's how people with low post counts are treated here.

Anyway another aspect of this car that may have led to the certain proportions that people either love or hate(ie the long hood, low cabin, high shoulder lines) would lead me to guess that this car has Good to GREAT results aerodynamically. The overall shape and smooth body undoubtedly have a direct benefit in terms of drag, frontal cross sections, and high speed acceleration.
Mazda may not need much more if at all 300hp to compete against others in its segment which brings up another issue, what does this car compete against. Years ago we had statements leading us to believe that it would be a Cayman competitor. Is that still true? Is that next gen Cayman(due next year-Turbo 4- speculated at 365-385hp @3200lbs) Theres not much to the RX-Vision and with the Miata being 2300lbs I think this will slot in around 2600-2800lbs which it may only need 300-325hp...