Before Mazda officially confirmed the return of the rotary engine in January, there had been years of Internet rumours about the rotary engine’s comeback since the production of the RX-8 came to an end 11 years ago.
When we hear the mention of the rotary engine, we immediately think of the RX-7 or RX-8. Sadly, that was not the case here. Mazda officially confirmed the return of the rotary engine in January, but to our disappointment, it presented the MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV, a tiny crossover with a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
On June 22, the company’s Ujina Plant No. 1 in Hiroshima, Japan, began mass manufacturing of the unconventional petrol engine acting as a range extender.
The business has built 1.99 million automobiles with rotary engines thus far. According to numerous patents, Mazda is still interested in developing a new sports car using a rotary engine. However, there is a long way to go from patenting a technology used in a road-going car.
The powertrain development division’s assistant manager stated at the start of the year that the “rotary is our symbol.” A performance application is still “a dream,” said Yoshiaki Noguchi, but the time is not perfect right now. Fans would not object to an identical manufacturing model even though the RX-Vision concept depicting a rotary-powered sports car is almost eight years old. It was actually sold, just as a scale model.
Closer to home, Bermaz Motor sells the Mazda MX-30 EV with prices topping out at RM198,780.
