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Mazda pushing ahead with rotary tech
Dedicated development team on Wankel power indicates a long-awaited successor to the RX-8
by Steve Cropley
17 September 2015
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Mazda is pushing ahead with rotary engine development in the clearest sign yet that the firm still harbours ambitions of bringing back its iconic RX series of sports cars using Wankel technology.
The Japanese manufacturer killed off its last rotary-engined sports car, the RX-8, back in 2012 as its motor faced ever-tightening emissions regulations. The firm did build a prototype turbocharged RX-8, but that car would have failed to meet European requirements too, and its further development could not be justified on Japanese sales alone.
However, the Mazda’s president Masamichi Kogai has confirmed at the Frankfurt motor show that the company still has a dedicated engineering team focused on rotary engine development and revealed that its staff are working “very enthusiastically” towards bringing the technology up to the standards of contemporary piston engines.
This would require considerable improvements in cold-start characteristics, CO2 emissions and torque at low revs, but Kogai reiterated that Mazda will not bring back rotary power unless it can match the standards of other ‘conventional’ engines.
Kogai did not outline a timeline for any return of the RX brand - indeed, he declined to specify precisely why the rotary development team still exists - but it’s feasible that a successor to the RX-8 could appear by 2018, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the original RX-7.
Mazda has also experimented with using rotary engines for different applications beyond being the sole powertrain for a vehicle. It has applied for patents using a rotary engine as a range extender on a hybrid system and even demonstrated a prototype based on the previous generation of its 2 supermini back in 2013.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows-frankfurt-motor-show/mazda-pushing-ahead-rotary-tech
Dedicated development team on Wankel power indicates a long-awaited successor to the RX-8
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This Autocar image shows how Mazda's new rotary-engined car could look
Mazda's last RX-badged car was the RX-8
by Steve Cropley
17 September 2015
Follow @@StvCr
Mazda is pushing ahead with rotary engine development in the clearest sign yet that the firm still harbours ambitions of bringing back its iconic RX series of sports cars using Wankel technology.
The Japanese manufacturer killed off its last rotary-engined sports car, the RX-8, back in 2012 as its motor faced ever-tightening emissions regulations. The firm did build a prototype turbocharged RX-8, but that car would have failed to meet European requirements too, and its further development could not be justified on Japanese sales alone.
However, the Mazda’s president Masamichi Kogai has confirmed at the Frankfurt motor show that the company still has a dedicated engineering team focused on rotary engine development and revealed that its staff are working “very enthusiastically” towards bringing the technology up to the standards of contemporary piston engines.
This would require considerable improvements in cold-start characteristics, CO2 emissions and torque at low revs, but Kogai reiterated that Mazda will not bring back rotary power unless it can match the standards of other ‘conventional’ engines.
Kogai did not outline a timeline for any return of the RX brand - indeed, he declined to specify precisely why the rotary development team still exists - but it’s feasible that a successor to the RX-8 could appear by 2018, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the original RX-7.
Mazda has also experimented with using rotary engines for different applications beyond being the sole powertrain for a vehicle. It has applied for patents using a rotary engine as a range extender on a hybrid system and even demonstrated a prototype based on the previous generation of its 2 supermini back in 2013.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows-frankfurt-motor-show/mazda-pushing-ahead-rotary-tech
