ASH8

The Australian International Motor Show starts soon here in Sydney, with the Mazda Kabura concept on show..

CarsGuide.com.au had this to say with other details....

"Mazda wouldn’t confirm if the Kabura would reach production, but it would be inexpensive and aimed at RX-7 buyers." ??

An interesting quote to say the least, what does this journo know that we don't?

http://carsguide.news.com.au/story/0...-21822,00.html

Renesis_8

Do you think they'll show a more production ready Kabura? or the same one. The article mentions nothing else to back that statement.
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HottCaramelo live

ASH8

I think..in fact I am pretty sure it is the same one that has toured in the northern hemisphere...there may be more than one concept car, but again I think this one was flown out from the Paris Auto Show...

Red Devil

Possibly I can see this. If they're aiming for the 1st gen RX-7 - small, very light with a decent hp/lbs ratio - then I'd say they're on track. As long as it has a rotary, of course.

Personally, I'd rather have something from Mazda that is closer to the 1st gen than the 3rd gen in terms of simplicity.

zoom44

this is the exact same car- it was tentatively planned to be at 7stock this weekend for the rotor heads to see- but they decided a couple of weeks ago to send it to Sydney instead

nazgul350r

My thougths exactly!

Digital_Damage

This car will never be made, with the hit Ford took we will be lucky to see new Rx8's the net couple of years.

mac11

iTrader: (1)

I would think ford would probably cut cars that wouldnt sell first. Of course that would mean ford would need to make logical decisions and we all know how ford does with that...

ASH8

Mazda is about the only brand that is making a profit in recent years, so I doubt Ford will turnd down their progress..

brillo

huh? Ford wows have little affect on mazda, besides, its allows mazda to leverage the rx8 platform, and make more money off it.

m477

Well, if they're going to aim it at RX-7 buyers it's gonna need a rotary, but Mazda has said repeatedly that the Kabura was piston-only.

Call me crazy, but I think they should just sell the Miata, RX-8, and Kabura in both piston and rotary versions. Sure it might take some extra engineering, but I don't think it would be that hard for Mazda to pull off. Plus they would sell more cars, which is a good thing, right?

DOMINION

Dam them

peterisurhero

hey guys, sorry if im a bit late on this whole discussion, but i think i remember reading in a magazine that said that the kabura ain't gonna be a rotary. so why would rx7 or even rx8 fans like it if it aint a rotary?

Renesis_8

A good handling light weight sports car that should be very fun to drive + RX-8ish acceleration, which isnt all that bad. And a possiblity of having a rotary.
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Kartess

SayNoToPistons

iTrader: (8)

That is just stupid. rx7 owners are rotary enthusiast... does this thing have a rotary? nope. Does this thing look like something that someone will buy because it looks beautiful? nope.

sosonic

Mazda execs must be smoking crack again.

Why would you aim a piston powered Kabura at RX-7 rotary people?

I did see in a friend's Japanese magazine that Mazda was working/playing with a new Direct Injection rotary engine. Maybe they could put a DI rotary engine in the Kabura. Then that would make sense to aim it at RX-7 people. Also, they are going to have to put down some serious 0-60 numbers. No less than 5 sec 0-60 and 4 sec would do more for them. You say RX-7 and people expect performance. If Mazda pulls the HP crap that they did on the RX-8, than people will try to hang some of the Mazda execs and will not touch the Kabura even with a 20 ft pole.

Another thing is that the 3 seat thing confuses me. So what is in that 4th seat spot? Extra trunk room? To me you go 4 seat or have the back seats fold down to provide some extra room or just go 2 seat. 3 seats is weird, I would have to see and sit in it to know if it works or not.

I do like that glass sunroof/front windshield. Very interesting, but it can get too bright. How do they handle too much sunlight???

mac11

iTrader: (1)

In my experience, save a few, it seems rx7/8 guys seem to be fairly level headed and while they love the rotary since this is built by mazda and stays with mazda traditions of lightweight good chasis and suspension and is unique they would be at least receptive of it.


That is a completely arguable opinion. I personally love the way the car looks minus a couple very small details. I also know many people who i have shown the car to that also love it.

sosonic

One of the reasons that people like the rotary because its unique. Nobody else has it, so it makes you kind of "special". Its like that odd mutant, so its interesting. You take out the rotary and then you are like everybody else. People will make excuses, because you have the rotary in there and its a mutant. Without it, it will be compared to other pistons with no mercy.

If the Kabura does not produce the 0-60 to 1/4 numbers or have engine problems, than the situation is even worse. Kabura can do well by itself, but marketing it towards rotary people, will create lots of issues. After talking to "hooked" rotary people, unless the Kabura sports a rotary engine or Mazda states they will no longer make any more rotary engines, I think "die-hard" rotary people will not touch it and keep waiting for a real RX to come along. There are lots of decent looking and fast piston cars out there, but true "die-hard" RX people are waiting for the rotary chosen one.

lesper4

iTrader: (3)

will this be at the LA Auto show as well?

mac11

iTrader: (1)

i understand that but i have also taken into consideration that waiting for the chosen one of rotarys could cost twice as much. And this car looks like it could be very competitive against a lot of cars based on the features that mazda will undoubtedly put in it a la chasis brakes and suspension. And while the rotary die hards may hold out they are a small chunk of the market and a larger chunk of the market will go with a non-rotary because they are scared of something different. And mazda is going to sell more cars to the general public than the rotary buffs.

tjbourgoyne

Mazda needs to give us some candy on the situation. They want me to have a warm fuzzy feeling about the rotary but it's hard to when I feel a cold wind a blowin.

mac11

iTrader: (1)

rumors are spreading they might do just that as SS9. Might want to check out the live broadcast thread.

Raptor2k

All I see from that thread is "I'm home now", "what's for dinner", "look he's taking out the trash", "can you see the UFOs in the background", etc.

Tirminyl

Well, the event is not until this weekend and the thread was more or less of setting up the camera and site feed. Gotta work out the bugs before you go prod.

Red Devil

My impression is that you are treating the 3rd gen RX-7 as the norm. It was not the norm for Mazda. The 1st and 2nd gen were great sports cars, competitive in their class, but they weren't world beaters, either.

Writing of a 0-60 in 4 sec in a car that is allegedly to be priced around a Miata or less will never happen. But a 2600lb car in the low 5s, that could happen.

I think Mazda's hallmark is very lightweight yet stiff, and balanced chassis. As Mac11 indicated, they are good starters kits with a lot of potential.