Miata Mailing List: May 1998, Message #283

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> From: "John D. Emerson" <jemerson@panther.middlebury.edu>
> Subject: Re: Rotary & RX-7 successor
> 
> [...]  The M Coupe on the show circuit two years ago was
> quite a hit.  it was lighter than the roadster and would
> be a natural for a non-aspirated rotary engine.  
>     At any rate, my remark originated in Automobile Magazine's
> indication that the rotary, which will remain in production, might
> make it to the Miata.  Their article was discussing 1999 successors
> to the RX-7.

Speaking as a former RX7 owner and still a big rotary fan,
I still tend to discount these rumors.

The big advantages of the rotary are its small size and weight,
its durability and longevity, and its relatively high power output.
The disadvantages include: relatively dirty (in current form,
requires 3 catelytic converters), lousy gas mileage, and 
an unappealing exhaust note (unless you like motorboats :-)

The main reason for Mazda to consider putting a rotary in the Miata
would probably be power, but in general, I think Mazda has stuck
to a philosophy of a moderately-powered, relatively affordable car.
As previously mentioned, more power implies added costs and complexity
(brakes, suspension, insurance, final price).  While some people
obviously want this, Mazda presumably sees a bigger market with the
current form of car.  (And those who want more power have already
found ways... :-)

Other than power and uniqueness, the rotary doesn't add much to the
current Miata, since you'd have to add some more cats, you'd lose
around 5-10 MPG, you'd sacrifice the sweet exhaust note, and probably
would end up paying more to buy the car.  The small size doesn't matter
since the Miata engine bay is already plenty big.  If you were designing 
a new car from scratch, that'd be different - then you could take
advantage of the size and maybe create some interesting body work.

Now: if Mazda chooses to offer a high-end Miata, or another
RX7 (or similar sports car variant), the rotary might find another
home, where its (relatively minor) drawbacks and its unique
advantages can be exploited.  After all, if you like revving your
Miata 4-banger to 6500, just think about things like that
smooooth 8000 RPM redline!

Just my $.02.

--                                             
Ken Buck                                          /|
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