Felix Wankel’s rotary engine is an engineering marvel because of its simplicity. Rather than the conventional pistons, camshafts, valves, and lifters, his design has a roughly triangular-shaped rotor in a chamber spinning around a shaft. The result is a compact powerplant capable of making lots of horsepower.
The German car and motorcycle maker NSU was the first company to offer Wankel’s rotary engine in a production vehicle, but
was the company that genuinely popularized this unconventional powerplant. It offered the rotary in models ranging from a small pickup truck to the iconic
sports car.
Mazda isn’t giving up on the rotary engine yet. Company CEO Masahiro Moro says a new version is on the way.
Mazda’s Latest Iteration On The Rotary Engine
In an interview with Automotive News, Moro teased some enticing details about the new powerplant.
“We have tested with the single rotor. The next phase will be moving to two,” he said. “The rotors spin separately in different chambers with one shaft. We need to generate more electricity. Two rotors will generate more power, which is more suitable to US market characteristics.”
Moro’s mention of generating more electricity hints that Mazda might be planning for the new rotary engine to function as a range-extender for an electric vehicle. The automaker already offered a similar setup, albeit with a single-rotor layout,
.
Moro says that Mazda is prioritizing building a rotary engine that complies with today’s strict emissions regulations. He admits making a cleaner version of the powerplant is a challenge, but the company is “very close” to achieving this goal.
Sporty Applications?
Moro didn’t go into specifics about when the new rotary engine might arrive, and he didn’t name any products that would use it. However, the timing of his statement is intriguing.
In November 2024, Mazda design boss Masashi Nakayama hinted at possibly putting the gorgeous Iconic SP concept into production. The show car featured a two-rotor rotary EV system producing a total of 365 horsepower. This powertrain layout sounds very similar to what Moro mentions in this new interview.
The Iconic SP received near-universal praise for its swoopy exterior design. The body featured retro styling cues that evoked the original Cosmo sports car, the third-generation RX-7, and the
. It even had tiny pop-up headlights – a styling element rarely seen on modern vehicles.
TopSpeed’s Take
There’s so much to love about the rotary engine. It produces lots of power and loves to rev. However, two significant issues with this layout are fuel economy and emissions. If Mazda can finally find a way to solve these problems, then Wankel’s engine could experience a renaissance.
However, the emissions issue is a major challenge to overcome, especially in the modern world where electrification seems to be the future. Let’s wait and see what Mazda can accomplish before getting too excited about a revived rotary.
Read the full article here
