Mazda shocked the automotive world in 2015 with its RX-Vision concept, a stunning sports car with rear-wheel drive and rotary power unveiled to highlight Mazda's latest design language and reaffirm the automaker's commitment to rotary powertrains.

The automaker has since ruled out a rotary-powered sports car (choosing instead to use rotaries for range-extending duty in electric vehicles), but could we still see something like the RX-Vision with a different powertrain?

Japanese website Hatena Blog has dug up a patent drawing that hints at the possibility. The patent, which was filed with the Japan Patent Office in January 2020, shows the rear section of a coupe with a similar profile to the RX-Vision concept.

Mazda patent drawing for a coupe - Photo credit: Hatena Blog/IPForce

Mazda patent drawing for a coupe - Photo credit: Hatena Blog/IPForce

The cutouts for the taillights match the design on the concept, and the shape of the three-quarter window is similar though not a match, suggesting that the car in the patent drawing isn't simply the RX-Vision. The interior of the car in the patent is also similar yet different to the one in the concept.

Mazda has developed a new rear-wheel-drive platform and inline-6 engine that could potentially serve as the basis for a sports car. Known as the Skyactiv Multi-Solution Scalable Architecture, the platform will underpin a host of new models launching between 2022 and 2025, including five hybrids, five plug-in hybrids, and three electric vehicles.

Hopefully one of those is a sports car styled like the RX-Vision. We could even see it featuring an RX in its name if Mazda makes it electric and plugs a rotary in for range-extending duties. Stay tuned.