Model S

Make
Tesla
Segment
Sedan

This surely won't be the last rumor regarding the hopeful next-generation Mazda RX-7. However, the signs indicating that this car will come to fruition are looking promising. At one point, Mazda decided not to do an RX-8 rotary replacement for many reasons. However, increasing demand from fans within and outside the automaker made executives think otherwise. And now a new report coming from Australia's Motoring is claiming that a new RX-7 will arrive in May 2017.

That will be just in time for the Mazda rotary's 50th anniversary. A source from Mazda told the publication that the company is likely to go with a twin-scroll turbocharged rotary with as much as 450 horsepower. Earlier this year, Mazda reportedly tested a naturally aspirated RX-7 prototype with about 350 hp. It was decided that simply wasn't enough juice. That test mule was also built on an extended version of the upcoming next-gen MX-5's platform, but that can't handle 450 hp. So now Mazda has dramatically rebuilt an old RX-8 platform for testing. We'll just have to wait and see where this goes. As far as the new car's official name, Mazda has registered both the RX-7 and RX-9 nameplates.