The rotary sports car dream lives on.
Another day, another report about the coveted rotary engine from Mazda.
This time around, Mazda's head of R&D and chief of design shed some
light about the return of a rotary-powered Mazda sports car.
Speaking to Wheels
at the 46th Tokyo Motor Show, Ichiro Hirose and Ikuo Maeda said that
bringing back the rotary engine is "still our dream." Maeda-san,
however, added that they are in a race against time when asked about a
time frame.
"I understand the clock is ticking and the environment
can change. We have to see if the future environment will accept a
sports car with open arms. So we understand we are racing against time,"
Maeda-san explained.
With this, we can infer that the company isn't giving up on its dream of a rotary-powered sports car,
but it isn't in development just yet. We can also deduce that problems
with emissions still play a huge part in hindering the RX moniker's
return.
However, patent filings were discovered
earlier this year pointing towards Mazda doing something about the
dreaded emissions issue. The patents discussed enhancing intake
efficiency, improving performance without increasing the rotor's sliding
resistance, and a method of removing soot and water from the rotor
chamber. Turbocharging also entered the picture, apparently.
Be that as it may, all things we know right now are all speculations
at this point, even with the RX-8s spotted testing around the
Nurburgring. The return of the legendary rotary sports car will remain a
dream, even for Mazda.
Moreover, the Japanese company seems to be turning its focus on EV development with a new MX-30 out and about. But as always, we'll always be on the lookout for further reports from Mazda.
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