Photo: Street FX Motorsport & Graphics/Facebook
The rumor mill refuses to let Mazda's rotary engine die and one of the reasons for this is that Wankel power is cool as hell. Sure, we could sit there talking about the pros and cons of rotary engines all day. But it's Sunday and we have a better idea - instead of bringing back the points we listed in our Rotary Engine Guide, we've brought along a piece of footage that shows just how neat the stunts pulled by a Mazda RX-8 can get.
To be more precise, the aftermarket-massaged RX-8 in the clip at the bottom of the page seems to have paid attention to those who can blow rings of smoke. Of course, since we're talking about a car learning human skills, the machine decided to take things one step further.
As such, this Mazda blows rings of fire. We're looking at unburnt fuel mixed with exhaust gas. The latter doesn't allow the fuel to burn (there's not enough oxygen for the process), but once the mixture goes through the exhaust, the air outside the car helps the overheated mix do its magic.
Returning to the Mazda Wankel revival point we made in the intro, we'll remind you that the most likely possibility for the Japanese automaker to bring back rotary power involves an all-new pathway, one that might not please everybody. We're talking about a hybrid vehicle that will use a rotary range extender.
Hooning aficionados would obviously prefer to see the RX-Vision Concept becoming a production reality, but we must keep in mind that Mazda has a lot of R&D to cover before we can even discuss such a possibility.
As Masamichi Kogai, the automotive producer's CEO has explained, the company needs to ensure the Wankel engine meets future emission regulations in order to build a solid business case for this form of propulsion.
As such, this Mazda blows rings of fire. We're looking at unburnt fuel mixed with exhaust gas. The latter doesn't allow the fuel to burn (there's not enough oxygen for the process), but once the mixture goes through the exhaust, the air outside the car helps the overheated mix do its magic.
Returning to the Mazda Wankel revival point we made in the intro, we'll remind you that the most likely possibility for the Japanese automaker to bring back rotary power involves an all-new pathway, one that might not please everybody. We're talking about a hybrid vehicle that will use a rotary range extender.
Hooning aficionados would obviously prefer to see the RX-Vision Concept becoming a production reality, but we must keep in mind that Mazda has a lot of R&D to cover before we can even discuss such a possibility.
As Masamichi Kogai, the automotive producer's CEO has explained, the company needs to ensure the Wankel engine meets future emission regulations in order to build a solid business case for this form of propulsion.
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