Unearthed Mazda Patent Points To Possible Return Of Rotary Engine, Also Highlights Novel Hybrid System

Mazda has long been a persistent believer in the potential of the rotary engine. The rotary (also known as the Wankel engine) has been around for awhile, but following a brief period in the 1970s where the novel engine was viewed as a potential solution to improving fuel economy, the engine has largely languished in the background. The last production model to utilize one was (unsurprisingly) the long axed Mazda RX-8 sports car. But Mazda has not given up on the idea of using it, and a recently unearthed patent appears to suggest that Mazda is closer to reviving the …

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2015 Mazda RX-VISION Concept 10

2015 Mazda RX-VISION Concept Is All-New SkyActiv-R Super GT

With a name like RX-Vision, clearly Mazda is sending strong signals about a future RX-7 flagship. This RX concept for the 2015 Tokyo Auto Show is the clearest preview yet of a future supercar in the Mazda lineup. Power is not detailed in output, only in name and philosophy. The name is SkyActiv-R, and the engine layout will be a next-gen Wankel rotary. Possible turbo and hybrid tech may be employed to suite the car’s performance goals, which are clearly aimed squarely at the new Acura NSX and future Toyota Supra Turbo, expected for 2018 with FT-1-inspired proportions. The Toyota …

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2007 Mazda TAIKI Concept 32

Concept Flashback – 2007 Mazda TAIKI Explores HyperLight Supercar Back-Channels

Let’s imagine you want to make a supercar. The normal way to achieve massive performance is a giant engine. But is there an alternative route to supercar speed? The TAIKI concept believes there is. The little ticks down the aerodynamics chart are actually really giant leaps forward in aero slipperiness. Dropping a coefficient of drag from 0.30 cD to a 0.29 cD is actually a 10X improvement in how smoothly the car can pass through the air. This change continues its exponential level of change as you approach 0.01 — so the benefits of drag reduction are quite powerful. More …

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1991 Mazda 787B 16

Racing Icons – 1991 Mazda 787B LMP1 Winner + Rotary Engine Timeline

  Wondered where the ‘LM55’ name of the new Mazda Vision Gran Turismo came from? That was the racing number of the LeMans-winning Mazda 787B from the 1991 LeMans. The only Asian brand to ever win overall via the LMP1 class, this is a story of a racing achievement that still irks powerhouse Toyota, Nissan and Honda to this very day. The 787B is also perhaps the ultimate evolution of the rotary engine — since its evolution beginning in 1588 as chronocles below. Reaching such heights as winning LeMans was an epic moment for rotary power, and conincided with the …

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