Although Mazda has yet to officially confirm a new RX-badged model, the firm says that if it comes to fruition, it will only arrive with a rotary engine.

While speaking with Wards Auto during a Q&A in Las Vegas, Russell Wager, vice president-marketing at Mazda North American Operations, said any potential new RX model will rely on rotary power, despite these engines being notoriously hungry on fuel.

“That concept car [RX Vision] shows RX in the title. Every time we’ve used that in the past, it means rotary engine. I hope that’s the case this time. “That car wouldn’t come to market unless it has a rotary engine. That’s what they are working on.” 

A few months ago, Mazda revealed that an engineering team has been working on an improved rotary engine for the past eight years in an attempt to find a breakthrough.

While it’s not yet known if such a breakthrough has been made, the latest reports indicate that the new model, potentially dubbed the RX-9, will arrive in 2020.

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