The world’s one and only rotary-powered production car will cease North American sales, most likely after the 2011 model year. As we reported last month, Mazda has already officially announced that European sales of the Mazda RX-8 will not continue after 2011, due to more strict EuroV emissions standards.
Although the Wankel-engined, 2+2 sports car was recently refreshed (2009) and currently meets all U.S. emissions standards (which are in some ways more strict than EuroV), Mazda sold only 128 RX-8s in April of 2010 for a total of 428 year to date.
Does this mean Mazda is giving up on rotaries? No. A company insider announced a new model is in the works and will be launched in 2013. Mazda might be shifting its resources towards the long rumored return of the RX-7.
About the author:
Shahir R. Ali General Manager and lead programmer at wemotor.com who loves cars and enjoys writing about them once in a while.
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