Mazda’s rotary engine is officially reborn, but not in the way one might think. Yes, we saw a beautiful Iconic SP rotary hybrid coupe concept unveiled at the Japan Mobility Show last October, which is the kind of car you normally think of when you hear that the “rotary has been reborn. “
But the Hiroshima-based automaker has its own way of doing things. What Mazda announced last week was the reactivation of the rotary engine progression team, internally called the “RE Development Group,” with “RE” for rotary engine.
So let’s cut to the chase. That is, Mazda plans to make cars powered by rotary engines. However, this means that the company will use rotary engines as turbines to power the batteries aboard long-life hybrid powertrains, which is precisely the type of powertrain that will force the iconic SP coupe.
The announcement is basically a progression from the recent debut of the rotary-hybrid Iconic SP concept with the company saying, “The new RE Development Group will continue to evolve rotary engines used as generators, and will conduct research and development into the application of carbon-neutral fuels.” And to achieve that goal, the company has assembled a team of 36 engineers.
But the operative word here is—generator. To Mazda, the rotary is its soul. Its identity. With no other carmaker employing rotary engines, it wants to keep that identity alive. More than five out of ten engineers join the company because they idolized rotaries as kids. And that beloved rotary engine is now—whether Mazda staff like it or not—being transformed into a generator.
Let’s go back a dozen years to the rotary-engined RX-8, the last car to be delivered with a full rotary engine without a hybrid system. Its production was halted in 2012, in part due to its low fuel consumption and high emissions. , and maximum oil consumption. So yes, that’s why the rotary engine had to be redefined and reinvented to keep it alive.
Rejoined on February 1, 2024, engineers at the “RE Development Group” have been working with a next-generation rotary engine and hybrid formula for six years. As an official team now, Mazda says the 36 engineers will come combined as a single unit to advance the study and creation of RE for long-term models.
The MX-30 REV runs through a rotary hybrid.
Prior to last week’s announcement, engineers had already designed, built and introduced the MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV production style in mid-2023, which uses a single-rotor rotary engine as a generator to force the SUV’s electric motor. While Mazda remained tight-lipped about the specs of this Iconic SP concept, they revealed that it would incorporate a hybrid formula to that of the MX-30, but that it would combine an unspecified number of electric motors with a two-rotor rotary engine. . 365 hp engine configuration, in which this rotary motor is used only to generate power and does not drive the rear wheels in any way.
The Iconic SP concept is a two-rotor rotary hybrid rated at 365 hp.
So why make this announcement now? I have the impression that Mazda wanted to refocus its attention on the progression of its rotary engine, which curiously has already manifested itself with the Iconic SP concept and the MX-30. I think the company was looking to officially announce a 36-member team that, for all intents and purposes, has already created the next-generation rotary engine, or we call it a new rotary “generator. “
Since the Iconic SP concept has already been unveiled with its twin-rotor setup and rotary engine as a generator, we can expect this car to launch within two years, along with several other more family-friendly models after that.