Mazda may shelve Iconic SP electric sports car amid EV costs
Mazda rethinks Iconic SP: electric sports car at risk amid EV platform costs
Mazda may shelve Iconic SP electric sports car amid EV costs
Facing high EV platform costs, Mazda may shelve Iconic SP electric sports car. Rotary tech lives on in the 503 hp Vision X-Coupe as budgets shift to 2027 EVs
2025-11-04T23:06:43+03:00
2025-11-04T23:06:43+03:00
2025-11-04T23:06:43+03:00
Mazda may shelve plans to build a production version of the Iconic SP electric sports car because of the high cost of creating its own EV architecture. The concept, shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2023, paired a 360 hp electric motor with a compact rotary engine that acted as a generator to recharge the battery on the move.Mazda initially said it intended to take the project to production. Designer Masashi Nakayama said in 2024 that the Iconic SP was more than a show car and had been engineered as a real proposition. In the two years since, the company has shifted priorities to developing a new platform for electric vehicles, with the first model not due until 2027.Chief technology officer Ryuichi Umeshita said the project is technologically feasible but the obstacle is financial. In recent years the company has reduced its electrification budget by roughly a third, trimming investments by 2.5 billion pounds under a lean-asset strategy aimed at preserving profitability. In a market where every EV dollar has to work hard, the move comes across as pragmatic even if it cools hopes for a flagship electric sports car.Even so, Mazda is not walking away from rotary technology. That engine type will underpin the hybrid 503 hp Vision X-Coupé and could evolve further. Umeshita said the team working on rotary engines has been reconstituted and that sports models remain part of the brand’s DNA.As for the Iconic SP, its fate remains unsettled. Where it would sit in Mazda’s lineup is unclear, especially as the company plans to keep the iconic MX-5 in production for as long as possible.
Mazda, Iconic SP, electric sports car, rotary engine, EV platform costs, budget cuts, Vision X-Coupe, 503 hp hybrid, MX-5, EV strategy, Tokyo Motor Show 2023, production plans, Ryuichi Umeshita
2025
Michael Powers
news
Mazda rethinks Iconic SP: electric sports car at risk amid EV platform costs
Facing high EV platform costs, Mazda may shelve Iconic SP electric sports car. Rotary tech lives on in the 503 hp Vision X-Coupe as budgets shift to 2027 EVs
Michael Powers, Editor
Mazda may shelve plans to build a production version of the Iconic SP electric sports car because of the high cost of creating its own EV architecture. The concept, shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2023, paired a 360 hp electric motor with a compact rotary engine that acted as a generator to recharge the battery on the move.
Mazda initially said it intended to take the project to production. Designer Masashi Nakayama said in 2024 that the Iconic SP was more than a show car and had been engineered as a real proposition. In the two years since, the company has shifted priorities to developing a new platform for electric vehicles, with the first model not due until 2027.
Chief technology officer Ryuichi Umeshita said the project is technologically feasible but the obstacle is financial. In recent years the company has reduced its electrification budget by roughly a third, trimming investments by 2.5 billion pounds under a lean-asset strategy aimed at preserving profitability. In a market where every EV dollar has to work hard, the move comes across as pragmatic even if it cools hopes for a flagship electric sports car.
Even so, Mazda is not walking away from rotary technology. That engine type will underpin the hybrid 503 hp Vision X-Coupé and could evolve further. Umeshita said the team working on rotary engines has been reconstituted and that sports models remain part of the brand’s DNA.
As for the Iconic SP, its fate remains unsettled. Where it would sit in Mazda’s lineup is unclear, especially as the company plans to keep the iconic MX-5 in production for as long as possible.
