Mazda is working on a next-generation rotary engine which will be ready by 2010, according to motor sports programme manager Noboru Katabuchi.
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The current rotary engine has been tweaked as part of a series of minor changes to the current RX-8, unveiled at the Detroit show.
“We’ve improved the oil system and reliability of the engine – Mazda is committed to continuously improve the rotary engine,” said Katabuchi.
“We are already in the advanced research stage for the next generation rotary engine and we see high potential for it especially using hydrogen as the fuel,” he said. “We have a clean sheet of paper for where this engine will be used.”
Changes to the current RX-8 have been designed to emphasis the handling and make it “quick and fun to drive.” Gear ratios have been shortened to improve acceleration and the suspension has been fine-tuned.
Katabuchi also said that research in Japan has shown that tastes in sports cars are changing. Younger people there are not as interested in them as they were, but interest is still very strong in countries like the UK and the USA.
The answer would be to make a sports car that appeals to a wider range of people, he said.
