Should the Kabura be the next RX-7?

subject:	kabura under RX badge?
author:	givinin01k
date:	June 9, 2007 - 2:23pm

If they're producing this car as a 4 cylinder it wont go under an RX badge. The RX badges meaning is Rotary Experimental. rotary isnt an entirely proven ground like a piston engine is due to the fact that yes they are known to be very unreliable. I've been working on rotaries for years and i havent seen one yet that lasted longer than 130000 miles under normal driving and never have i seen a modified rotary thats lasted more than 50000. I love em to death and this unreliability wont cause me to stop driving rotary but Ive seen piston engines with well over half a million miles.

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subject:	nah...it should be an rx-7
author:	FD3S GHOST
date:	October 5, 2006 - 4:06pm

i think that it aint goin 2 be an rx7 cuz according 2 thiz website(kaburaforums.com) it says that it would sit between the mx-5 and the rx-8, ( Design boss Petter Birtwhistle confirmed)

If thiz car becomez an rx7 it better hav a rotary engine!

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subject:	rx-7.....
author:	rotarycrazy
date:	June 7, 2006 - 2:18pm

the only way I can take a car that uses the rx-7 name is if it can out perfor a 2002 rx-7 by a lot, and rival a porche 911 like the fd dit.

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subject:	It doesn't need to outperform
author:	neit_jnf
date:	August 25, 2006 - 8:58am

It doesn't need to outperform the 2002, just match it! high 12s quarter mile from the factory! Super handling and beautiful looks.

All they need to do is remake the 2002 Spirit-R using a shortened RX-8 chassis (stiffer), Turbo Renesis with about 300hp, keep it around 2800 lbs, Blistein shocks, Brembo brakes, Recaro Seats, meet emissions, be reliable, and cost less than or around $30k

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subject:	No more RX-7's
author:	FC Dreamer
date:	May 23, 2006 - 4:11pm

We need to make a RX-9 not another RX-7. The name is no longer good to use once they made the RX-8. It makes no sense to go back a step in naming a car. Not to mention the RX-7's dont exactly have a reputation with the general public for reliablity. Naming it a RX-7 would jink the car before it ever got in production. Besides we have 3 generations of RX-7s we dont need a 4th.

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subject:	You know, a good secondary po
author:	ShadowX
date:	April 6, 2006 - 10:26pm

You know, a good secondary poll to this would be to ask how many people want Mazda to just remake the 3rd gen. Many of the people saying the Kabura shouldn't be an RX-7 often immediately comment on the 3rd gen RX-7 and how the RX8 lines aren't appropriate.

What I'm getting I'm trying to say is it seems that many of these people feel there is no replacement for the 3rd and aren't welcoming change. The 3rd gen is a beautiful car, but honestly has very little to do with the 2nd gen design wise. So why should a 4th gen be a continuation of style from the 3rd gen. The new RX7 should be just that, a NEW RX7. Rear wheel drive, rotary, and turbo are what truly make an RX7. I would welcome the Kabura the new RX7, as it would bring bring the RX7 back into the realm of affordable sports cars(unlike the 3rd gen at $45k!!!).

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subject:	Names
author:	Bill in OKC
date:	April 4, 2006 - 9:28am

Dodge made a huge mistake naming their new *cough* Charger the *cough* Charger. The car has 4 doors... Maybe it is a good car but it should have been named a Coronet or something that actually had 4 doors. People who loved the Charger are disgusted and people who want 4 doors probably aren't looking for a muscle car - I think the sales of a good car are suffering because of it. If the Kabura has a piston engine then it will never be a true RX-7.

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subject:	The Kabura name is cool
author:	sureshot
date:	March 14, 2006 - 11:52am

My suggestion: build the Kabura, offer a lower cost, lighter weight 2 seat option and see what happens.
Then as the Renesis reputation builds, offer a Renesis option - the "Kabura RX-7".
If it's quick, light, and affordable, it will outsell production.

Will it steal sales from the MX-5? Probably some.
Will it steal sales from the RX-8? Probably some.
Will it steal sales from other makers? Probably a lot.

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subject:	Its hot looking
author:	atif723
date:	January 13, 2006 - 6:12pm

I like the style of Kabura, I hope by the time it comes in production line it stayes the same. I hope they slap rotary engine in it. Because Mazda is the only company which has rotary sports car. Kabura will be a good way to promote this great technology.

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subject:	Nice Rx8 concept. Bad Rx7
author:	xrotaryguy
date:	January 10, 2006 - 2:37pm

I love rotaries and I think that the Rx8 is a great car. I certainly do not think that a new Rx7 should look anything like an Rx8 though. Give us Rx7 guys a break. We have been hearing about those weird fenders for a couple of years now. The Rx7 was a beautifully styled car. It never featured edgy styling and I don't think that it ever should. The Rx8 and cars like it do well with that kind of styling. The Toyota Celica is another example or a sucessfull car that uses edgy styling. Those cars however make sacrafices that an Rx7 should not. For example the Rx8 has a back seat, backward opening rear doors and a roof line that doesn't slope down much so that it can better accomodate rear passengers . Thats great! It helps us sell to a segment that wants to be able to carry the kids to school or go out with friends. Its a much more practical car than the Rx7 ever was. The Toyota Celica too has a back seat and a roof line to match. The Celica even gave up rear wheel drive decades ago. No big deal for someone who needs a practical and fun car that gets great gas mileage!

An Rx7 needs to be a more dedicated sports car. You want to put people in the back? Fine. Offer a 2+2. Maybe it will be a little tight but thats ok. Its a sports car. You don't want to pay the big bucks for the turbo model? Get the N/A version. Not all sports cars have to be super fast. The first generation Rx7 was and the Mx5 still is proof of that.

You need a car that will sell. Not another 3rd gen. The 3rd gen was a beautifull car but it was too expensive and too impractical. The first gen was a great car too and it sold great! It would be a fantastic sales generator for Mazda today if it weren't for the Miata already taking its place. And again the Rx8 is fun and practicall... but weird looking. We don't need a weird looking Rx8 derived Rx7. We need Styling that matches or surpasses that of the 3rd gen Rx7 and one that offers the flexability in options of the 2nd gen. That will sell for sure!

I can understand the desire to use Rx8 parts or atleast the Rx8 assembly line or assembly techniques in the Rx7. But please don't use so much of the styling. The Mx5 uses a lot of parts that are similar to those in the Rx8 and it works great dispite hanging on to the styling. But steer away from that styling a bit more with the Rx7. Putting it on the Mx5 was pushing it enough.

Oh and if you're thinking of putting a piston engine in that thing, forget about it. Do you remember the 808? How about the 618? No? Neither does any one else. Thats because no one liked them. We don't need to learn that lesson twice.

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subject:	Next RX-7 Should Be...
author:	scarecrow
date:	April 6, 2006 - 9:18am

In my opinion Mazda really messed up with the FD. Sure it is an amazing driver's car, but consider the following alternatives:

A non-turbo FD with a 4.77:1 differential and the right transmission gear ratios pushing about 240 HP at the flywheel.

A MazdaSpeed version that is turbo with an appropriate cooling system.

Mazda could have built a reliable FD that still ran a high 13 sec quarter mile. That kind of car would have been a great tribute to the first gen RX-7 and would have been just as great of a car as the one they built (look at the Lotus Elise). What many tuners love about the FD is that it can be easily upgraded to be a very quick car (with compromises to reliability). What many buyers love about the FD is its looks.

Mazda: Get a clue. The miata is one of the best selling roadsters of all time, and there are some clear reasons for this fact. It is an "English roadster" that is reliable, looks good, and handles great!

Demonstrating that a reliable non-turbo rotary can actually compete with the 6 cylinder in cars like the 350Z would be a great punch in the stomach to other car makers. Let MazdaSpeed and aftermarket vendors take care of those people with more money than sense who think that the only good rotary is one with a turbo.

Build a non-turbo RX-7 starting at $24k and it will sell if it runs a high 13 sec quarter mile (first gear doesn't need to top out at 40 MPH people!). The RX-8 starts at $26k with all the options that an enthusiust would want. If my wife did not need a new car a year ago, I would have one. We bought her the Mazda 3, because she will not drive a manual.

---
1990 Mazda RX-7 GXL 160k miles and still strong

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subject:	I agree with a lot of your po
author:	Roxy
date:	March 17, 2006 - 4:06pm

I agree with a lot of your points here.

To me, a new RX-7 should evoke the first. It was similar in size to the current MX-5, low in price and fun to drive. It was nothing like the overpriced, overequipped monsters the later cars became. The RX-7 was never meant to be a Corvette or Viper or even a 300ZX. Extreme performance for very few that could afford it was never the mission of the RX-7. Fun, simple, and quick at a price accessible to the everyman was.

The way I'd like to see the RX-7 return would be as a coupe based on the current MX-5 platform, with a mix of styling cues from the first and third generation 7's. Keep the basic profile and bubble rear glass of the original, and give it a bit of the curvy sexiness of the third gen. As to powertrain, a boosted Renesis with a nice 6-speed would do just fine. With the weight savings (and additional rigidity) of the coupe design compared to the soft top and the weight and power advantage of the Renesis compared to the 4banger, the improvement in performance would be rather dramatic.

Most importantly, it could be done with existing components for the most part, and would be a rather minimal cost hit to design and produce compared to an all new vehicle. It's something Mazda could practically do in a cost-efficient and profitable way.

Recapturing the spirit of the original RX-7 in this way, at a price point that brings sports car driving pleasure to an accessible market niche, could only be a success.

If such a thing led to the adoption of the NA, low-port Renesis in the MX-5 as well, that could only be a bonus.

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subject:	Kabura... :(
author:	tandolla
date:	January 11, 2006 - 12:34pm

alright i dont care if they produce the car. but PLEASE DONT GIVE IT ANYTHING TO DO WITH the name RX.. expecially the RX-7.. if its not rotary.. keep the name kabura.. if that was produced with out a rotary and had the name RX in it.. it would be a discrase to the freakin Rotary & RX. name.. if it had a rotary which it SHOULD!!! have be the RX-8 it looks kinda like an RX-8 HatchBack. ADD THE ROTARY!!!!!!!!!!!!! get rid of the PISTONS!!!!!!

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subject:	Mazda's naming standards ofte
author:	ShadowX
date:	April 6, 2006 - 10:38pm

Mazda's naming standards often refer to engine type, the 'R' in RX7 stands for 'rotary'. Without a rotary motor, it won't be an RX7.

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