Here comes Mazda's RX-9? Mystery hi-po logo lodged in Australia could pave way for rotary revival

The Mazda RX-9 could at last be readying to launch, with the brand quietly trademarking its new sporty-looking badge in Australia, with the mysterious logo seemingly channeling the Spirit R examples of the RX-7 and RX-8.

In what could be big news for those longing for Mazda's performance reboot, the new logo is a white 'R' set against a grey and red background, and looks remarkably similar to the Spirit R badge that adorned the hi-po variants of the RX-7 and RX-8.

The application appears to be for the Australian market to adopt the international filing - first lodged in Japan - with the local application made in Australia on April 14.

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The trademark - which Mazda is yet to officially comment on - fuels the rotary revival fire, with Japanese site Best Car Web recently reporting that the new model could laiunch as soon as 2023, and might be being developed in partnership with Toyota, after the latter stole the show at the Tokyo Auto Salon with the stunning GR GT3 Concept.

According to the site, the GR GT3 shares its basic dimensions with the Mazda RX Vision concept, with both measuring the same 4590mm in length, and each only a handful of mm different in terms of width, height and wheelbase. According to the reports, Mazda will at last launch the RX-9 next year with hybrid-rotary power (though the brand is yet to confirm anything officially), and will target power outputs of around 370kW.

Better still, we know Mazda has developed a new rear-drive large architecture platform, and earlier this year the brand lodged patent files for a new triple-rotar (one more than the RX-8 offered) Wankel hybrid engine, with the sketches clearly showing the engine finding a home in a sporty-looking  but as yet unidentified model.

Does all of this mean a new RX-9 will launch at last? With Mazda yet to confirm the model, you'll have to watch this space.