Mazda Set to Unveil RX-7 / RX-8 Successor At Tokyo Motor Show?

I’ll take this one with a serious grain of salt, but we’re hearing that this year’s Tokyo Motor Show will see the unveiling of an all-new Mazda coupe powered by the company’s signature rotary engine. According to an “unnamed Japanese auto mag”, the new coupe will be “inspired” by the concept vehicles that Mazda was bandying about last year: the Nagare, Ryuga, and Kabura.

Based on these renderings — it’s unclear whether they’re official leaked documents from Mazda or simply mockups produced by a rogue magazine — the new coupe will borrow most of its styling from the Kabura concept. If this holds up to be true, then this yet-to-be-named vehicle should be rear-wheel-drive. This is because the Kabura was based on the RWD MX-5.

In terms of power, the grunt will come from Mazda’s next-generation rotary engine, dubbed the RENESIS(2). This new powerplant will finally push the displacement beyond the company’s trademark 1.3 liters for the first time since 1974.

Rotary coupe, eh? Sounds like a new RX-7 (or RX-8) to me.