One of the great engines of our generation, the rotary, shall live on!

Mazda: No New V-6, CX-7 Won’t Be Replaced, and the Rotary Lives

April 17, 2012 at 2:32pm by David Gluckman

We recently sat down with Robert Davis, Mazda’s senior vice president of U.S. Operations. Subjects discussed included the proliferation of the automaker’s Skyactiv technology suite, the future of V-6 and rotary engines, future crossover strategy in the wake of the CX-7 leaving our market, and a little about the next MX-5 Miata. Here are the high points.
Rotaries, Plural
When asked how Skyactiv squares with a revived rotary, Davis told us to expect many of the same core technologies to be applied: reduced internal friction, reduced rotating mass, and more-efficient transmissions. He mentioned that a new rotary is being explored for applications where it would drive the wheels as well as those for which it would drive an electric generator. The smoothness of a rotary and its low weight are advantages for this role, while its relative lack of torque wouldn’t be a problem. We are reassured that Mazda sees the rotary as part of the company’s soul.
CX-7: CX-ancelled
Mazda recently announced that it will no longer sell the CX-7 crossover in the U.S. (The two-row utility will continue on in other markets, including Mexico.) It turns out that the new CX-5, the first new Mazda to be engineered under the Skyactiv banner, is not only more fuel-efficient than the CX-7, but more space-efficient as well. The CX-7 was somewhat of a tweener, sized between compact and mid-size crossovers. Davis tells us that the CX-5 was at one point considered to replace the CX-7, but overlap in production contracts wouldn’t allow it. That means, for the foreseeable future, Mazda will have a size-four gap between the CX-5 and CX-9.
No New V-6 Planned
Davis also told us that Mazda isn’t working on a V-6 for its Skyactiv portfolio. The 6 sedan and CX-9 currently offer six-cylinders (optional on the Mazda 6 and standard on the CX-9); the new, lighter 6 will make do with four-cylinders (we also expect a hybrid version of the next 6, while Davis says a new CX-9, which would be lighter as well, could get power and good fuel economy from a boosted four-cylinder. So for now, Mazda is concentrating on developing four-cylinders as well as the aforementioned rotary.
Skyactiv and the Miata
We pressed Davis for any information on the next Miata, but he wouldn’t give up much in the way of detail. He did say that the lightweight/efficiency approach of Skyactiv is basically the same as the development process for the third-gen MX-5, and that we should expect the same for the new car. It’ll be lighter, but Davis wouldn’t share the weight target; we certainly won’t say no to a lighter Miata. And it’s obvious, but the automaker’s latest design philosophy, Kodo, will influence the next Miata’s styling. When we asked whether or not Mazda would build anything like the Miata Spyder and Super20 concepts, Davis said, “We would love to. Pay attention: There are some special editions coming that I think your readers will like.”

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