"BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast." (boxerfanatic)
06/01/2015 at 12:24 • Filed to: None
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"BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast." (boxerfanatic)
06/01/2015 at 12:24 • Filed to: None | 1
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I still wish they had built the Kabura concept, essentially a 3.5-door fastback based on a slightly modified NC Miata chassis, but nowhere near as long as RX8, and it was I4-RWD, just like Miata. Travis Okulski says Miata will save the affordable sports car genre... but will it save the potential for it’s own sibling? Could such a car as the Kabura concept be produced, possibly also jointly with FCA for a FIAT, Lancia or Alfa Romeo branded car, as well as a Mazda model?
Frankly, this is what Hyundai Veloster missed the mark of, and where Kia GT4 Stinger should have gone, and FR-S/BRZ/GT86 missed the opportunity for, as well. A dose of innovation thrown in. Yes, this car would be heavier than a 2-seat Miata, but probably still WELL under 3000lbs, and with the ubiquity of turbocharged 2.0 Liter engines anymore... with 200+ horsepower, but more importantly 200+ lb.ft. of torque, this car could still be a power/weight fly-weight champion.
This car could justify itself as a commuter runabout with enough practicality to be versatile and not just left in the garage for fear of unexpectedly needing slightly more cargo or passenger space than you left the house with, but still being a small, efficient, and VERY FUN car for one or two people most of the time.
You can see here the long coupe door, plus the slight retraction of a pocket door panel retracted a couple inches aft ward into the quarter panel above the rear wheel.
The passenger seat and passenger’s side dash is shifted forward relative to the driver’s seat, and there is a third passenger accommodation. I think there was a jump-seat behind the driver, but much less useable than the aft passenger seat, and mostly probably useable for stowage.
CalzoneGolem
> BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
06/01/2015 at 12:31 |
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Those seats hurt my back just by looking at them.
PS9
> BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
06/01/2015 at 12:39 |
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Not gonna happen.
Textured Soy Protein
> BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
06/01/2015 at 12:56 |
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Doubt it.
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BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
> BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
06/01/2015 at 13:15 |
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I doubt it will happen, too... but RX7 and RX8 no longer exist in the slot above Miata, for Mazda being a company that espouses “fun to drive” and it’s old Zoom-Zoom motto.
With 2.0-2.5 turbocharged engines... and still keeping the weight at or under 3000lbs with 250-300 horsepower... it could be quite a compelling little car, in a way that the Toyota triplets aren’t... and there is some benefit in platform sharing with the Miata, and the FCA alternate model potential.
The only other game in town might be the next Nissan Z... but Nissan does not have a stellar record recently of making compelling, or even SANE cars, and 370Z is not it, in terms of weight, or looks, and most of what I read is how coarse the VQ37-VHR engine is, even if it has a healthy amount of power... heaven forbid they actually put a new RB-series engine in the next generation Z-car, and go back to I6 power...
Plus, if Mazda were to do a coupe like this again, it might be either a smaller step to having an MX/RX mixed model, with the possibility of an RX variant of the coupe with the 16X rotary engine, or the MX variant of the same chassis and body, with a turbocharged SkyActiv (or even MultiAir derived throttle-less variable valve controlled piston engine.
Otherwise, if an inline-4 sport coupe slots in just above and shared with Miata... that might take some pressure of the next generation RX car from having to be down-market and more affordable... and maybe that frees Mazda to a position to have the next RX be a mid-engined premium halo car, with some Alfa 4C chassis development sharing, and go up market a bit, more in the 40K+ range, just under Porsche/Lotus/Corvette.
It is easy just to say “Nope”, and end it there, and not bother with hope or expectations for something better.
But why not? I ask both in the sense of reasoning for a negative outlook sense, and a hope for a positive outlook sense of asking ‘why not?’...
Kanaric
> BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
06/01/2015 at 15:04 |
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Put a mazdaspeed 3 engine in and i’ll buy.
Mazda needs a new GT
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BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
> Kanaric
06/01/2015 at 15:07 |
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No kidding. With the weight of the roof, and such an innovative seating arrangement done RIGHT, (unlike Veloster that got the rest of the car very WRONG)
A Mazdaspeed SkyActiv Turbo would be a nice engine choice.