An Electric Mazda Miata Successor Is In The Works–With A Rotary Gas Engine

Mazda Iconic SP Concept Exterior Front View

The gorgeous Iconic SP concept from last year was designed to be easily turned into a production car.

• Mazda says the Iconic SP concept was designed to be turned into a production car.
• The two-door sports car is powered by an extended-range powertrain.
• A two-rotor Wankel gas engine acts as a generator for the battery, but there is no mechanical connection between the engine and the wheels.

Remember the stunning Mazda Iconic SP concept that debuted at last year’s Japan Mobility Show? It’s a swoopy two-door sports car that was designed to showcase Mazda’s new direction for sports cars, all while paying homage to the legendary FD RX-7. It’s also considered a sort of futuristic preview for the next-generation Miata, which has gone down in history as the world’s best-selling two-seater convertible sports car.

But the Iconic SP might become a reality soon, along with its headline-making extended-range powertrain that combines an electric motor, lithium-ion battery and twin-rotor Wankel engine–just don’t hold your breath.

According to Masashi Nakayama, the man who designed the swoopy concept, Mazda wants to put the sports car into production. We just don’t know when that will happen. "This concept is not just one of those empty show cars," Nakayama said in a recent Mazda-published story. "It’s been designed with real intent to turn it into a production model in the not-so-distant future," he added.

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That could mean two years or 10 years, we don’t know. The current Miata is expected to stay on sale until at least 2026, so the production version of the concept will likely arrive after the current-gen MX-5 is retired. When it eventually makes it into production, it might not look like the show car. That said, Naohito Saga from the automaker’s planning division, pointed out that the concept was designed with an eventual homologation in mind.

“In the development process, everything from the position of the doors and tires to the length of the vehicle, the seating position of the occupants and visibility was meticulously researched before reaching the final specifications,” Saga said. “It really shows how much we wanted to make it a car that manifests Mazda’s commitment for the future, especially in terms of sustainability and the future role of our rotary engine technology.”

Reading through the lines, it seems Mazda is serious about using a similar extended-range setup in the road-going version of the sports cars. The concept’s spec sheet touted a maximum output of 365 horsepower from an undisclosed number of electric motors. A battery pack is the main source of energy, and it can be recharged either from an EV charger or via the built-in gas-powered rotary engine that acts as a generator.

Tipping the scales at 3,196 pounds, the Iconic SP is a rather impressive machine, on paper at least. Putting it into production would make it one of the lightest and most nimble EVs around. However, the fact that it still has a gas engine might make some electric die-hards look elsewhere for on-road thrills.

According to Mazda, this setup opens up the possibility of using synthetic fuels and even hydrogen as a solution to cutting back harmful emissions until a full-on electrification shift happens. Speaking of electrification, Mazda will invest over $9 billion to launch new hybrid and all-electric models by 2027 before electrifying its entire portfolio in 2028. Before you get your hopes high, though, you should know that most of them will be crossovers and SUVs.