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Mazda to Revive Rotary Engine by 2017

When Mazda decided to pull the plug on the RX-8 sportscar, a piece of the manufacturer went under at the same time with it. A senior company engineer explained that the Japanese manufacturer aims to bring back into production the rotary engine in an all-new form. The engine was formally known as the Wankel rotary - the radically different powertrain that managed to put Mazda on the map when it entered the American market four decades ago.

The manufacturer decided to continue production of the rotary engine due to its small size and high performance. The engine fitted best the brand’s “zoom-zoom” image as Kyoshi Fujiwara, the Japanese maker’s global product design chief explained. The decision of pulling the engine out of production appeared when Mazda announced it was pulling production of the slow-selling RX-8, as related by thedetroitbureau.com

Other car manufacturers also explored then abandoned the technology including Ford, GM, Porsche and Toyota. Mazda, however, was the only car manufacturer to find a serious application for production, releasing the rotary engine in its early models like the RX-2 sedan and the original RX-7 sports car. Nowadays, it is only available in the US on the RX-8 model.

The main drive factor which motivates Mazda to bring back the rotary engine are developments regarding fuel economy, which will be achieved by an improved and practical rotary engine as explained by Fujiwara. He also believes that the reinvented rotary engine will be able to deliver mileage which will be at least comparable to Mazda’ current gasoline engines.
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