Last week, the internet discovered Mazda had trademarked a new “R” logo, similar in appearance to the Spirit R badge that’s appeared on final editions of some of its sports cars. This week, another performance-related Mazda filing is making the rounds, this time showing detailed schematics of an all-aluminium space frame for a theoretical coupe.
Friend of Jalopnik Will Pierce spotted a blog in Japanese on the platform Hatena reposted images from IPForce.jp on Thursday. Mazda apparently filed 14 patents in total, and they all relate to the structure of a sports car. The most notable actually shows the shape of the vehicle’s greenhouse and rear quarter, and it happens to bear a striking resemblance of the brand’s RX-Vision concept that debuted in 2015.
The use of the RX-Vision in these sketches shouldn’t be construed as a confirmation that particular car is destined for production; of course Mazda would rather use drawings of a concept already revealed to the public, rather than the two-door sports car it may or may not be developing, to convey these technical ideas. Still, it’s hard to believe Mazda would be putting so much effort into researching and patenting stuff like this if there wasn’t an underlying intent to bring such a product to market one day.
The patent related to that image showing the partial body of the car reads as follows, via Google Translate:
The present invention is intended to provide a rear body structure of a vehicle that can ensure the support rigidity of the rear suspension and effectively transmit the rear thrust load from the rear side housing (rigid member) to the coupling body between the side sill and the pillar.
Rigidity, particularly as it relates to the rear suspension, appears to be the common focus among these filings.
Mazda’s been teasing us over the RX-Vision for years now, most recently with the fictional RX-Vision GT3 brought to Gran Turismo Sport last year. The RX-Vision GT3 was said to employ a four-rotor engine — theoretically, of course — though the prospect of a fully rotary-powered sports car seems unlikely as EVs take over. Mazda is using a rotary to recharge the batteries inside its new MX-30 crossover, though that model has been backburner’d for what it’s worth.
Whatever this thing ends up being, if it ends up being, it’d be surprising if it had a corn chip propulsion system. I’m willing to concede that, so long as we’re getting a Mazda sports car in some capacity. Especially if it’s as gorgeous as the RX-Vision.