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Mazda rumored to bring rotary-powered RX-9 concept to Tokyo

Stop us if you've heard this one before: Mazda will bring a rotary-powered sports car to the next big auto show. Okay, so we stopped for a second, but the show must go on. Following an official teaser image (shown above) late last month, Motoring.com.au has what it claims are renderings of the curvy, two-door coupe – called the RX-9 – that Mazda will bring to the Tokyo Motor Show later this month. The images show a far softer styling than Mazda's current crop of Kodo-inspired vehicles, while the overall look screams of a modern-day Cosmo Sport, the Japanese brand's first rotary-powered vehicle. And though that connection alone might be enough to justify whisperings of a successor to the RX-7 and RX-8, Motoring claims there will be an even more overt sign of this concept's power source. "Look to the Cosmo Sport," an inside source told the Aussie website, signaling that the Mazda stand would feature the vintage two-door. "The Cosmo has no earthly reason for being there unless..." The rotary rumor, if it comes true, won't exactly be what we're use to. While Motoring brings up the previously reported 16X – a 1.6-liter two-rotor – it builds on our 2013 report. According to the Aussies, the new engine could feature a two-stage electric turbocharger, be paired with a hybrid powertrain, offer up to 450 horsepower, and we're guessing, be hilariously complicated. Joking aside, it sounds like Mazda's goals here are admirable. A rotary-equipped sports car that could counter the 1.3-liter RX-8 engine's appetite for fuel and improve on its mediocre low and mid-range torque would be interesting indeed. As for those renderings, Motoring has front and rear three-quarter images. Comparing the rear with our original teaser leaves the look open to interpretation, but after seriously upping the exposure on the teaser (thanks Photoshop), the taillights and overall profile shape look to be a spot-on match. In front, the long hood shares some Kodo elements, like the headlights and grille, but its undeniable coupe shape – a long hood and very short deck – are far more organic and, dare we say, calm, than Mazda's other vehicles. You can take a closer look at the renderings over at Motoring's website. Do that, and then head back and let us know what you think of these RX-9 rumors. Is Mazda finally going to be bringing a rotary back to market?

Huet Brothers working on new Miata-based retro coupe

Does the name Huet ring a bell? The Dutch brothers started out doing classic car tours in Europe before they started designed and building their own retro sports cars. The first was called the Huet Brothers Special. It was based on an old Triumph TR6 and surfaced back in 2009. But a few years later they started showing designs for a new coupe that called for a straight-six engine under a long bonnet with a fastback roofline, and started taking orders. Over the past two and a half years we didn't see anything materialize out of the Huet Brothers' plans, but word out of the Netherlands has it that the design is back on the table.
According to the Autovisie section of Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Tino and Paul Huet were planning on building their coupe on the base of the MX-5 Miata. But now that Mazda is preparing to launch an all-new model, the Huets have decided to wait until next year and build their dream car on the new Skyactiv roadster chassis.
Rather than trying to shoehorn in a bigger engine (or the subsequent diesel model that was set to follow), the Huets are reportedly prepared to stick with Mazda's four-pot, offering it in stock form and various states of upgraded tune.

Mazda taps Americas head as CEO to raise game in its biggest market

TOKYO — Mazda has named the head of its Americas operations as its next president and CEO after its current chief steps down in June, as Japan's fifth-largest automaker seeks to boost profitability in North America, its biggest market. The company said on Friday that Masamichi Kogai will step down and be replaced by current vice president Akira Marumoto, who now oversees operations in the Americas. The changes are effective June 26 after Mazda's annual shareholders' meeting. Mazda, which has global annual sales of around 1.6 million vehicles, has enjoyed a run of rising vehicle sales, expanding in markets particularly in North America, which accounts for nearly 30 percent of total sales. But as one of Japan's smaller automakers and a tiny player globally, it faces growing competition in the United States, where market growth has slowed, and where the company's profitability has sagged due to higher discounting and slowing demand for sedans. The maker of the MX-5 Miata roadster and the reputed Skyactiv gasoline engines also faces higher costs to stay competitive in an industry which is being disrupted by new technologies, including self-driving cars and electric vehicles. Marumoto, a 38-year company veteran with a background in engineering who described himself as having a "strict" work ethic and admitted to being "short-tempered" at times, previously led Mazda's corporate planning and product strategy divisions before heading its Americas operations. He said that growing sales and improving profitability in the North American market would be his biggest priority, along with expanding the company's brand image as an innovative car maker. "Given the rapid changes occurring in the auto industry at the moment it's often asked whether a small company like us will be OK," Marumoto, 60, told reporters at a briefing in Tokyo. "But before we even consider this we need to show our strengths, and what makes us different if we want to grow our brand." Kogai, who became Mazda's president and CEO in 2013, will be following the footsteps of his two immediate predecessors who also held the top job for five years each. He will still be with the automaker and become its chairman, the company said. Earlier this year, Mazda announced that it would invest in a new, $1.6 billion plant in the U.S. state of Alabama as a joint venture with Toyota.