- The Mazda RX-Vision GT3 is getting an Evo version with a substantially wider and more aggressive body.
- The virtual race car gains more pronounced fenders and revised aerodynamic elements.
- The RX-Vision GT3 remains a digital-only racer, despite Mazda continuing to flirt with the idea of a rotary-powered sports car.
Remember the Mazda RX-Vision? The gorgeous rear-wheel-drive sports car concept unveiled at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show was supposed to preview a new era for the rotary-loving Japanese automaker. More than a decade later, we’re still waiting for a production version. In the meantime, Mazda keeps finding new ways to keep the RX dream alive.
The latest one is the RX-Vision GT3 Evo, a more extreme evolution of the virtual race car created for the Gran Turismo series. And if the original looked ready to take on the world’s most exotic GT racers, this one appears to have skipped a few meals and spent considerably more time at the gym.
The biggest change is the bodywork. Mazda has given the RX-Vision GT3 Evo significantly wider fenders, creating a much more muscular stance than the already-wide original. The additional width is especially noticeable around the rear wheels, where the bodywork now sticks out dramatically farther than before.
Photo by: Mazda
The front end is also more aggressive, with revised aerodynamic elements and a deeper-looking splitter. Around the back, the Evo gets a substantial diffuser and a massive rear wing that makes the original RX-Vision GT3 look almost restrained by comparison. Well, almost.
The RX-Vision GT3 was already one of the most spectacular race cars in Gran Turismo. Based heavily on the 2015 concept, it transformed Mazda’s elegant Kodo design into something far better suited to attacking racetracks. The virtual racer added wider fenders, a prominent front splitter, extra hood openings, a taller rear wing, and a large diffuser to the original design. The Evo takes that philosophy even further.
Mazda hasn’t revealed a full set of technical specifications for the new version because this video is technically just a teaser ahead of an upcoming full debut. It’s unclear whether the changes are purely visual or whether the virtual racer has received meaningful performance upgrades underneath the wider body. Either way, the revised proportions make the car look considerably more purposeful.
Strong (But Hypothetical) Specs
The original RX-Vision GT3 was conceived for Gran Turismo Sport and arrived in 2020. Mazda described its virtual race car as being powered by a four-rotor Skyactiv-R engine producing roughly 562 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque. Yep, four rotors.
That’s one reason the RX-Vision GT3 remains such an intriguing what-if. Mazda hasn’t sold a rotary-powered sports car since the RX-8 went out of production in 2012, yet the company has repeatedly reminded enthusiasts that it hasn’t completely abandoned the idea.
Unfortunately, the RX-Vision GT3 Evo isn’t the RX-7 successor we’ve been waiting for. At the end of the day, it’s still another virtual car.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. The Gran Turismo universe gives Mazda a playground to explore designs and performance ideas without worrying about crash regulations, emissions certification, pedestrian safety, production costs, or whether anyone can actually afford the resulting machine.
Photos by: Mazda
The original RX-Vision itself never made the jump from concept to production, despite generating plenty of excitement. Mazda eventually created the GT3 version for Gran Turismo, giving the design a second life as a digital race car.
Mazda has since kept the rotary conversation going with the MX-30 R-EV and, more importantly, the Iconic SP concept. The latter was unveiled in 2023 as a vision for a future sports car using a two-rotor engine as part of an electrified powertrain. Mazda has since admitted that it is still considering a production version, although funding remains an obstacle.
The Rotary Engine Isn’t Dead
That makes the RX-Vision GT3 Evo particularly interesting. It isn’t evidence that Mazda is about to unveil a new RX-7, but it does show that the company remains perfectly happy to play with the idea of an outrageous rotary sports car.
More than ten years after the original concept debuted, its long hood, low roof, cab-rearward proportions, and flowing Kodo bodywork still look fantastic. Even wider fenders and more aggressive aero only make the formula more convincing as a race car. The frustrating part is that Mazda has already shown us what it could do.
We’ve seen the RX-Vision. We’ve seen the GT3. We’ve seen the Iconic SP. We’ve even seen Mazda bring the rotary back into production, albeit in a very different role as an already nearly forgotten range extender. The only thing we haven’t seen is a proper production sports car.
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Source: Mazda
Motor1’s Take: Mazda has spent years dangling the rotary carrot in front of enthusiasts, and the RX-Vision GT3 Evo is another reminder of what we’re missing. It’s wider, meaner, and arguably even better-looking than the original virtual racer, but it’s still trapped inside a video game.
The RX-Vision concept remains one of those rare show cars that never really went away. Mazda keeps revisiting the idea in different forms, whether it’s the GT3 racer or the Iconic SP. At the same time, enthusiasts continue hoping one of them will eventually escape the digital and conceptual worlds. For now, the RX-Vision GT3 Evo will have to do.
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