What Goes Some …

Whether through its practical cars together with SUVs, or the evergreen MX-5, Mazda is a pretty familiar marque to virtually route users. Many of you lot volition also live aware of its rich motorsport history, too, existence specially famed for its role of Wankel rotary engines, both inwards its road- together with track-going cars – and, of course, for winning the 1991 Le Mans 24 Hours alongside its rotary-engined 787B.

Mazda's rotary engines accept ever had a reputation for compact ability (and a fleck of a thirst), together with accept been used inwards a reveal of dissimilar models, going dorsum to 1967. The RX-8 of 2012 was the lastly consumer vehicle to live powered past times i of its super-smooth rotary engines.

Of course, concept cars rarely teach inwards to the route as-is – if at all – but a peek at the specs are quite promising … and, to transcend it all, Mazda filed a patent inwards early on 2016, for a direct-injection, turbocharged, rotary unit, which could transcend the 400hp grade … sure to a greater extent than than 'generator' spec?

Recently, Automotive News reported that Mazda is i time once again developing a rotary engine, together with it could teach inwards into production cars every bit shortly every bit 2019. Actually, Mazda never stopped working on its rotary engines, it simply scaled dorsum development. So, volition nosotros start to encounter these high-revving units dorsum on the roads? Well … sort of …

Most of the big automotive developments, these days, centre unopen to novel powertrain tech, then it’s likely no surprise that Mazda are investigating using rotary engines every bit generators for hybrid EVs. Mazda has shape here, alongside its battery-powered 2013 Mazda2 concept car, which used a tiny 330cc rotary every bit a generator.

EVs together with hybrid marketplace portion is increasing all the time, together with volition shortly outstrip sales of traditional internal combustion (IC) engine cars, but, whilst they’ve come-on inwards leaps together with bounds over the lastly few years, electrical current electrical storage capacities are alone simply getting unopen to providing the arrive at available from fifty-fifty small-scale IC engines – at least, non inwards a trend that virtually mortals tin afford.

Because of this, ’range-extending’ is the shout out of the game for EV together with hybrid vehicles, together with this is where a Mazda rotary tin help. Having a small-capacity, light, together with – compared to a traditional reciprocating engine – unproblematic rotary, generating ability for electrical motors, way longer ranges, fewer emissions, and, hopefully, cheaper vehicles.

So, whilst nosotros haven’t seen the destination of Mazda’s rotary offerings simply yet, they won’t live returning inwards quite the same guise every bit before. But, in that location is all the same a glimmer of promise for such a vehicle. The Tokyo Motor Show concept RX-Vision, shown inwards 2015, teased a possible render for the rotary engine that could truly teach inwards into production, together with fifty-fifty compete favourably alongside such cars every bit the Alfa Romeo 4C, Jaguar F-Type, or Porsche Cayman.

So, whilst we’ll probable encounter rotary engines build an appearance inwards Mazdas relatively soon, it may live a lilliputian longer earlier nosotros encounter a Porsche-bothering rotary powered Mazda on the roads … but croak on yours eyes together with ears opened upwardly … Mazda are all the same working on it …

If you’re a Mazda maven, or a rotary votary, we’ve a fine alternative of books to whet your appetite …

From Brian Long, comes RX-7 – Mazda’s Rotary Engine Sports Car. This is a novel edition of the definitive international history of Mazda’s extraordinarily successful Wankel-engined coupés together with roadsters. It covers every RX-7, upwardly to the destination of production together with introduction of the RX-8, together with is packed alongside advice on buying your ain RX-7, summation coverage of the RX-7 inwards motorsport, together with production figures – non to cite enough of color photos, including advertising together with sales literature. Japanese Performance had this to say:

"Lavishly illustrated alongside 425 photographs, Brian Long’s definitive history of the RX-7 provides an in-depth insight into this mega Mazda. H5N1 ‘must have’ tome to grace the java tabular array of whatever Japanese sports machine enthusiast."

SKU: V5133 Format: Paperback Spec: 25x20.7cm • £32.50 • 216 pages • 425 color together with b&w pictures ISBN: 978-1-787111-33-2 UPC: 6-36847-01133-8 More info…

Marc Cranswick's Mazda Rotary-engined Cars – From Cosmo 110S to RX-8 is a consummate history of Mazda’s rotary-engined vehicles, charting the challenges, sporting triumphs, together with critical reactions to a novel moving ridge of sports sedans, wagons, sports cars ... oh, together with trucks. As Evo magazine says:

"A valuable property to anyone who considers themselves a fan of either rotary engines or Mazda every bit a brand."

SKU: V4943 Format: Hardback Spec: 25x20.7cm • £40 • 192 pages • 233 color pictures ISBN: 978-1-845849-43-6 UPC: 6-36847-04943-0

And finally, our real ain Drive Guide Guru, Julian Parish, is no stranger to rotary engines, having extensive ownership sense of an RX-8. He has set his real-world sense together with cognition into Mazda RX-8 – All models 2003 to 2012, The Essential Buyer's Guide, so if you're looking to purchase an RX-8, either a kickoff gen or instant gen, including the R3, you'd live crazy non to read this first. Practical Classics' opinion: