New Mazda patent suggests rotary-powered hybrid
No, this doesn’t involve tiny range extenders. This could actually be the real deal, writes Nile Bijoux.
Anewly published patent in Japan is hinting at Mazda making a return to the high-performance sports arena. Yes, we know this is a well-beaten dead horse but the patent holds some interesting titbits.
It looks like Mazda is working on a car that uses a front-mounted rotary engine (full-sized, not a range extender) and one electric motor to drive the rear wheels as well as one electric motor housed inside each front wheel. The result is a hybrid all-wheel-drive vehicle that should deliver some pretty epic performances.
The electric system comprises a small 3.5kWh battery operating at 48 volts along with a unique capacitor system housed underneath the bonnet. It works by charging the capacitors through regenerative braking and when the voltage between the terminals of the capacitor reaches a certain level the charge goes to the battery.
If the capacitors don’t have enough juice when the driver buries the throttle, the battery steps in to assist. Think of the battery as a back-up to the capacitors. We’re not sure exactly how much charge the capacitors can hold but it sounds like enough to produce some extra output when needed as well as helping reduce emissions when coasting. It seems the capacitors only power the front wheels though.
The patent added the in-wheel motors only generate an output ‘‘when a large output is required in the high vehicle speed range’’.
Mazda describes the system as lighter than a conventional battery set-up, partially due to the smaller battery but also because the high-voltage wiring only needs to run from the motor in the front wheels to the capacitor under the bonnet.
Interestingly, the patent also says the system can work with rotary, inline and V-shaped engines, which means we could also see it helping out Mazda’s new straight-six engine, set to power the upcoming Mazda6 sedan.
Patents don’t mean the technology will make it to production. It could just be the carmaker protecting its intellectual property. Regardless, it’s exciting to see Mazda is still thinking about the rotary outside of tiddly range-extenders.