Only a few weeks ago did we learn that Mazda was officially working on a new and state-of-the-art rotary engine. Our assumption was that this new engine could potentially find its way under the hood of an eventual production version of that gorgeous RX-Vision Concept, which we saw in the flesh at Geneva last month. We figured that a potential RX-9 could debut in 2020 in order to coincide with Mazda's centenary. According to CarAdvice, we figured wrong.

The Australian publication recently had a chance to speak with a senior Mazda official who stated that there's "no specific plan to mass-produce the vehicle (RX-Vision)." The official elaborated claiming that "Mazda R&D will continue to look, that's their dream as engineers. When it comes to business I think we have to study lots of elements, recovering engineering costs, tooling, we have to be realistic." The guy went on to state that the new MX-5 RF and roadster are what Mazda has to offer in terms of sports cars. If, however, Mazda continues to earn a profit and "can afford more engineering resources, we can again talk about new concepts or visions or whatever...that's where we are."

I also encountered similar statements when I asked some Mazda officials at Geneva about a new RX model. Despite their denials, they were very eager to show off the RX-Vision Concept and all of its fine details. Let's hope their enthusiasm for that concept translates to a road-going version in the near future.