This lovely piece of engineering
Image: elminium
Mazda’s legendary Wankel rotary engine boasted power, smooth output, and an unforgettable noise — but its gas-guzzling habits and high emissions made its future uncertain. Now, this high-revving internal combustion engine could find new life in an unexpected place.
The Rotary Engine Returns: A look at Mazda’s technology
An electrifying future
Although Mazda fans are clamoring to see the rotary engine make a triumphant return in a sports car, don’t hold your breath — Mazda is looking into applying it to an electrified vehicle. Instead of powering Mazda’s RX-series lineup of sports cars, the rotary engine could act as a range extender as part of the ultra-compact XEV hybrid drivetrain. The rotary engine could power the wheels and serve as a way to generate electrical energy.
According to Mazda’s Executive Officer for Powertrain Development, Ichiro Hirose, the XEV drivetrain could enable a vehicle to operate like a battery EV with a range-extending onboard charger, or like a plug-in hybrid, making heavy use of its small electric motors while primarily relying upon a combustion engine.
Hirose explained, “What we intend to do is that with this combination you can vary the amount of battery and also the amount of fuel tank supply. What that allows us to do is, depending on the ratio between the two, is that we can have a derivative that can work more like a plugin hybrid.”
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With the XEV drivetrain’s flexibility, Hirose is confident that Mazda’s rotary engine will be capable of complying with emissions standards worldwide — even in stringent regions like California.
Source: The Drive
Kimiko Kidd is a native Daytonian. She graduated from Wright State University with degrees in environmental science and sociology. She loves her trusty old Honda Civic, but dreams of owning a 1974 Ford Falcon XB with a custom paint job and a vintage Kawasaki Z1000. In her free time, Kimiko can be found watercolor-painting, baking muffins, collecting rocks, playing old-school Nintendo games, writing her novel, sewing stuffed animals, and cosplaying as her favorite Mad Max characters. See more articles by Kimiko.
