Mazda hints at a new rotary sports car

Is Mazda Motor Corporation about to push its rotary engine back into showrooms? Judging by the RX-Vision sports car concept it unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show, it looks like it is. But when?

Mazda not given up on Wankel

Despite being notoriously well known for its heavy fuel consumption, Mazda claims it has not given up on its unique rotary engine despite the car industry's drive towards alternative fuels and powertrains.

Often criticised in the past for its poor fuel economy, the gasoline rotary engine remains very much in the minds of the Japanese company's engineers, according to Jeremy Thomson, managing director of Mazda UK.

He said: "The engineers still talk about it a lot and it could come back. We don't want to lose the technology."