The current Mazda RX-8 has strayed from the simplistic roots of the original RX-7 – including a price tag that starts at over $27,000 – but the Japanese automaker will fix that situation with the next-generation of the RX-8-replacing RX-7.
Rumors of the next-generation RX-7 have graced these pages before, but all signs indicated the new car would be a sporty but more up-scale coupe option. However, Mazda engineers have reportedly gone back to the drawing board, making the new RX-7 more in the image of the original car sold between 1979 and 1985.
According to Edmunds, the RX-8-replacing RX-7 was set to be an up-scale car with a price tag in the mid-$30,000 range. However, thanks to the downtrodden economy and the pending arrival of vehicles like Toyota ’s FT-86, Mazda brass has decided to move the next RX down-scale.
Look for the RX-7 to be a more bare bones kind of car, sporting a more attainable price tag of about $25,000. The new-age RX-7 is slated to use a version of Mazda’s new 1.6L rotary engine, developing between 200 and 250 horsepower. That motor is said to be capable of generating upwards of 350 horsepower, so a high-performance version – with an appropriate price bump – is not out of the question.
The RX-7 could arrive as soon as 2011 as a 2012 model. When the RX-7 does bow, expect the current RX-8 to ride off into the sunset.
