Production of the Mazda RX-8 sports car series equipped with rotary engines ended in 2012, but someone has just spotted an RX-8 wearing a test wrap at the North Loop of the Nurburgring.
It would be easy to assume it was just an RX-8 owner who felt like trolling the media by cladding his ride in the test wrap. The catch is, the racetrack was open exclusively for vendors on the day the car was spotted. Furthermore, the letters ‘HG’ on the number plate refer to the Hochtaunus District, where the Mazda Europe R&D Center is located. So, no coincidence after all.
We have all heard rumors that Mazda planned to bring the rotary engines back into the industry, but the company has repeatedly stated it was not looking into producing new models based on the Wankel engine. It wasn’t until the beginning of 2019, when Mazda openly patented multiple rotary engine blueprints, that the truth came out.
The alleged Mazda RX-9 has been in the works since 2011. Back then, the Japanese manufacturer wanted to build it upon a Toyota hybrid drivetrain that would be able to maximize the performance of the Wankel engine. In 2015, the RX-Vision Concept premiered with a Skyactiv R rotary engine on board. Shortly afterwards, rumors began circulating that Mazda was putting every effort into designing a high-end sports model for 2020, the year of the Tokyo Winter Olympics and the 100th anniversary of the brand. In 2016, the company’s engineering department lamented the difficulties of making rotary engines compliant with the increasingly strict environmental laws.
With all of the above considered, the reappearance of the RX-8 on the Nurburgring is no small news. There has been no official comment yet, so rumors are guaranteed to thrive in the following weeks.