Mazda's design boss has confirmed a production version of the company's stunning RX-Vision concept is still in the works.
The concept car was originally revealed in 2015, when it was widely anticipated to herald the return of the rotary engine to the company's engine line-up, packaged in a new range-topping sports car.
Since its reveal, progress reports have been few and far between. But during the reveal of the all-new Mazda3 - which shares some design elements with the RX-Vision - Mazda's chief design boss Ikuo Maeda shared a rare update with AutocarUK.
When asked about whether the RX-Vision could ever go into production, Maeda said: “I hope I can say yes – this is my dream.”
He went on to confirm he has prepared a design for a new sports car that "is kind of a production car".
Maeda added: “When it is decided as a brand that we need a sports car, that’s when we will produce the car. As you know, we already have the MX-5. If we need a more premium sports car, then we need to have a serious think about it.”
Mazda's Product planning boss Ichiro Hirose also added: “I think as soon as our profit situation gets better, we will be able to proceed in that direction to make it a product.”
In October, Mazda confirmed the rotary engine will return as a 'newly developed range extender' in 2020. Mazda won't say how big the rotary extender will be, but add that it will be small, quite and developed to run on both liquid petroleum and LPG gas.
By 2030, Mazda expects that internal combustion engines coupled with some form of electrification will account for 95 per cent of the vehicles it produces, and full-electric battery electric vehicles will account for 5 percent.
Hopefully one of those models will be a new sports car, perhaps called the RX-9?
