Browse over 9,000 car reviews

New Mazda RX-7 2022 rendered: Could the iconic rotary sports car return to rival the Toyota Supra?

Mazda Mazda News Mazda RX-7 Mazda RX-7 News Coupe Best Coupe Cars Mazda Coupe Range Sport Best Sport Cars Industry news Showroom News Car News
...
If a new-generation RX-7 does come to fruition, it could very well look like this. Image credit: Enoch Gonzales
If a new-generation RX-7 does come to fruition, it could very well look like this. Image credit: Enoch Gonzales
Justin Hilliard
Head of Editorial
1 Feb 2020
2 min read

Mazda has been teasing and then closing the door on a new RX sports car for years now, and we’re seemingly no closer to a proper reboot of the rotary icon.

Of course, we all got excited when the jaw-dropping RX-Vision concept was revealed at the 2015 Tokyo motor show, but more than four years later, a related production model is yet to appear.

At the time, the Japanese manufacturer described the RX-Vision concept as a “vision of the future that Mazda hopes to one day make into a reality”, but it later confirmed a new RX sports car was not actually in the works, despite demand both externally and internally.

That said, the brand has since delivered on its promise of bringing the infamous rotary engine back, although it has only been used as a range-extender for all-electric vehicles so far.

Despite all of this, we can still dream – and as you can see here, that’s exactly what industrial designer Enoch Gonzales has done with his interpretation of a fourth-generation RX-7, which could rival the recently reborn Toyota Supra.

The rear end introduces new elements to Mazda's evolving Kodo design language. Image credit: Enoch Gonzales
The rear end introduces new elements to Mazda's evolving Kodo design language. Image credit: Enoch Gonzales

There’s no doubting this version takes into account Mazda’s evolving Kodo design language, particularly at the front end. The rear is more a departure, though, with the linked LED tail-lights and chunky quad exhaust tailpipes standing out from the crowd.

For reference, the third-generation RX-7 ended its production run in August 2002 and was succeeded by the RX-8 that stopped being built in June 2012.

Justin Hilliard
Head of Editorial
Justin’s dad chose to miss his birth because he wanted to watch Peter Brock hopefully win Bathurst, so it figures Justin grew up to have a car obsession, too – and don’t worry, his dad did turn up in time after some stern words from his mum. That said, despite loving cars and writing, Justin chose to pursue career paths that didn’t lend themselves to automotive journalism, before eventually ending up working as a computer technician. But that car itch just couldn’t be scratched by his chipped Volkswagen Golf R (Mk7), so he finally decided to give into the inevitable and study a Master of Journalism at the same time. And even with the long odds, Justin was lucky enough to land a full-time job as a motoring journalist soon after graduating and the rest, as they say, is history. These days, Justin happily finds himself working at CarsGuide during the biggest period of change yet for the automotive industry, which is perhaps the most exciting part of all. In case you’re wondering, Justin begrudgingly sold the Golf R (sans chip) and still has plans to buy his dream car, an E46 BMW M3 coupe (manual, of course), but he is in desperate need of a second car space – or maybe a third.
About Author

Comments