[Martinjlm]

First Supra, now Nissan Z. When is RX7 (or 8 or 9) coming back?

[Davescamaro]

Right? Saw Nissan's possible 400z.

[soloknight6]

Always loved the Z cars. I just hope they dont also ditch the manual transmission option like every other manufacturer.

[KenKat]

I remember when I was a kid we went to the local Datsun dealer to look at cars. I quickly spotted a 260Z and said “dad, let’s get this one”!

Turns out we were looking a B210’s. We ended up getting a Pinto.

[Nothing like an SS]

My second car ever was a 1971 Datsun 240 Z. Great car! It was a ton of fun to be sure.

[snizzle]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

First Supra, now Nissan Z. When is RX7 (or 8 or 9) coming back?

Ah, the Rotary eXperiment, we've probably seen the last of RX cars. Reliability and poor MPG made sure of that (although I only experienced the latter on my RX8). Every few years we get another rumor. The last was a rotary hybrid drivetrain of sorts. The skeleton rotary powertrain team at Mazda probably looks like the Camaro team at Chevy (assigned to other projects).

[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by snizzle

Ah, the Rotary eXperiment, we've probably seen the last of RX cars. Reliability and poor MPG made sure of that (although I only experienced the latter on my RX8). Every few years we get another rumor. The last was a rotary hybrid drivetrain of sorts. The skeleton rotary powertrain team at Mazda probably looks like the Camaro team at Chevy (assigned to other projects).

A number of companies, Mazda included, are looking at rotary engines as range extenders for battery electric vehicles. Turns out when you can limit the operating range to its sweet spot, the rotary can be a very efficient power generator. Mass and packaging are also very attractive features for use as a range extender. In any of these situations, the rotary would not drive the wheels. It would simply charge the battery.

[Davescamaro]

Well the rotary isnt fuel economy and eats oil. Just not smart of Mazda to bring it back. Although, I am digging the new 2.7L Turbo engine GM is now using with dual valves to the the turbo. Works similar to the 90s technology of sequential turbos.

[UnknownJinX]

Originally Posted by Davescamaro

Well the rotary isnt fuel economy and eats oil. Just not smart of Mazda to bring it back. Although, I am digging the new 2.7L Turbo engine GM is now using with dual valves to the the turbo. Works similar to the 90s technology of sequential turbos.

IMO the main issue is really that Mazda rotary doesn't have any economy of scales to speak of.

Technical issues? Not a problem, if you have a good R&D team and throw money at them, the problems will go away. This isn't cheap, though, and companies will have to justify this R&D cost.

For V8s of American companies, it's not an issue. They make a lot of money from pickup trucks, so R&D is easy to recoup. If they only use the V8s in sports cars, they will put a stop to it.

Same thing with the new Supra. From a business standpoint, it makes zero sense for Toyota to pour a crap load of R&D into an I6 that will only go in a low-volume sports car. I6 engines don't fit in most of their toaster FWD sedans so there is no economy of scales to leverage off of. BMW readily has a handful of I6s so it makes sense to ask one from them.

Mazda got away with the sports-car-only approach for rotaries in the past due to bubble economy. When that bursted, so did Mazda's business and we all know the days where FoMoCo is the major stockholder of Mazda. RX-8 kinda sorta had the right idea of trying to appeal to more people but the lack of R&D in the engine was showing a bit.

Mazda is also pretty broke in general, which doesn't help.

So I guess the TL;DR version is that if the rotary hybrid idea doesn't take off, I don't expect to see a rotary engine again simply because it doesn't have any economy of scales.

[Mrbobcat]

I think I like it. I may put my intention of getting a Challenger Scat Pack on hold until more info on the Z comes out. Especially if it ends up being more classic styling like the 240 or 280 had without the ugly headlights and sharp lines of the current model and is several thousands less than the new Supra. I have mixed feeling on the Supra. It is way overpriced in my opinion and has some quirks with all the fake vents and no cooling for the seats. ect. But after watching some driving vids, it looks to be a fun car and sounds good for a six cylinder.

[SSEssence]

I like how they threwback to the 240z streamline body line, I think its going to be good!

[rich2342]

Bet it will be fast.. If they don't raise the weight. I had a 350z tuned and exhaust it was damn quick and could handle.

[BMR Sales]

I had a 260Z that I bought in College. I left it home to have some work done. My sister took it for a Spin & totalled it. I didn't have Insurance on it yet - I get Zip, lost the car, lost my money, my A$$hole sister never gave me dime!

[DRKS1D3]

If I were GM, I'd be more interested in the upcoming Mustang Mach 1. I'm die hard GM, but why Ford always supplies their faithful with upgraded performance models and GM gives us $2,500 sticker packages is beyond mind-numbing.