New Mazda concept previews rotary-electric MX-5 replacement

Mazda has given a radical vision of what the future could look like for the venerable MX-5, headlining this year’s Tokyo motor show with a sleek, rotary-electric sports car concept called the Iconic SP.

The concept – previewed digitally earlier this year and now presented as the centrepiece of a celebration of the MX-5 on Mazda’s stand – is said to use a powertrain based on that of the recently launched MX-30 R-EV crossover, which uses a rotary petrol engine as a generator to charge a 17.8kWh battery on the move, rather than as an alternative means of driving the wheels itself. 

Mazda has not given full specifications for the concept, but claims it has 370bhp at its disposal – roughly double the most powerful version of today’s Mazda MX-5. However, it is unclear whether this quoted output is for the electric element of the drivetrain, or a combined figure that includes the rotary engine. 

Either way, tipping the scales at a relatively lithe 1450kg – roughly on a par with the four-cylinder Lotus Emira, which produces 360bhp – the concept should be, theoretically, significantly faster than any road-going Mazda so far.  

Mazda says a rotary range-extender powertrain makes sense for an electric sports car because it can be configured in a variety of layouts for optimum weight distribution and packaging. Here, for example, the tightly packaged petrol engine is housed in the middle of the car, which promotes a low centre of gravity while allowing for a long, probing front bonnet and cab-rear silhouette. 

The concept measures 4180mm long by 1850mm wide and 1150mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2590mm, which makes it closer in size to the Alpine A110 than the MX-5. It remains unclear whether the visibly larger cockpit is designed to carry more than two occupants – Mazda could seek to package the batteries vertically behind the driver for a lower ride height and centre of gravity, in a bid to preserve the MX-5’s characteristic keen dynamics. 

Images of the cockpit give clues as to just how important handling is for this electric reimagining of the MX-5. The digital driver display hosts a g-meter and, intriguingly, a map of the Monaco GP circuit – hinting that the Vision SP has been conceived with rapid lap times and driver engagement as a prevailing focus. 

There are shift paddles behind the steering wheel too for adjusting the brake regeneration, and a touchscreen that looks to host controls for the active aerodynamic elements, suspension settings and launch control. Other visible features include a 360deg camera and an ultrasound sensor in the front grille, presumably for adaptive cruise control. 

The cabin is trimmed in a blend of microsuede and Mazda’s plant-based bio-fabric material, in a nod to the firm’s ambitious pledge to be completely carbon neutral by 2050. 

As part of that sustainability vision, Mazda has long been vocal about the potential for combustion engines to survive into the future, running on synthetic fuels or hydrogen, rather than petrol or diesel, as a means of ensuring their carbon neutrality. 

Mazda envisions that the Iconic SP’s rotary engine would be able to run on “a variety of fuels, including hydrogen” and adds that “if the battery is charged with electricity derived from renewable energy, it is possible to drive in a virtually carbon-neutral state”. 

Recently appointed Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro, revealing the concept in Tokyo, said: “We love the MX-5, and the world loves the MX-5. We are determined in the age of electrification to keep the joy of driving which the MX-5 represents alive, and the Mazda Iconic SP, with its dual rotary power generator-EV powertrain, is our dream solution – a dream we will work hard to launch.

“Mazda will always deliver vehicles that remind people that cars are pure joy and an indispensable part of their lives.”

Moro did not, however, go so far as to suggest plans are under way to develop a production version of the concept. 

He was named as Mazda’s new CEO in March of this year, at the same time as the company announced a massive £8.7 billion electrification initiative, under which it will introduce new hybrid and pure-electric models by 2027, before working to electrify all of its cars from 2028. 

The company has given no indication of when an electrified MX-5 could arrive as part of that framework, but now that the current MX-5 has been upgraded it to make it compliant with impending safety legislation, it can be expected to remain on sale until at least 2026.