Mazda could reverse plans to build a production version of its Iconic SP sports car concept due to the financial demands of developing a bespoke architecture for a new line of pure-electric cars.
Revealed at the Tokyo motor show in 2023, the Iconic SP is an MX-5-sized two-seat coupé that theoretically uses a 360bhp range-extender EV drivetrain, with a small-capacity rotary engine serving to top up the battery on the move.
Last year, Mazda design chief Masahi Nakayama suggested that the company was committed to putting the Iconic SP into showrooms, saying it was "not just one of those empty show cars".
"It’s been designed with real intent to turn it into a production model in the not so distant future," said Nakayama of the coupé concept, which was designed and engineered with the prospect of homologation in mind.
But now, two years on from its unveiling, Mazda is well under way with the cost-intensive process of developing its own bespoke EV architecture, which will underpin its first car in 2027, and launching a production version of the Iconic SP is not a priority.
Asked for an update on plans to build the rotary-electric sports car, chief technology officer Ryuichi Umeshita said: "Let me answer personally: that is my dream car. I want to make it real.
"Technology-wise, I believe it's possible. The only outstanding issue is financial."
Since Mazda revealed the Iconic SP, it has embarked on a drastic cost-cutting strategy that has slashed its investment in future electrification initiatives by around £2.5 billion – or a third of what it had originally planned – in the run-up to 2030.
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Couldn't they just ditch the rotary and just twin it with the next MX5 to minimise additional development costs rather than abandoning it completely?
A hybridised NA 2.0 in line 4 with c.300bhp would work well albeit giving quite a different character. This would give you an MX7 instead of an RX9 essentially.