Sporty rotary unveiled
This week the Mazda Motor Corporation unveiled their rotary-powered Mazda RX-VISION sports car concept at the Tokyo Motor Show. The rotary engine has become the distinctive symbol and differentiator of their iconic sports coupes – such as the Mazda Rx7 and Rx8.
The vehicle is breathtakingly sexy and, although only a concept vehicle, it hails back to the styling and engineering expertise that produced some of the iconic sports Coupes of the past.
Mazda was early to recognize the benefits of rotary engines and began building test vehicles like the 40A, L8A, and 10A in the 1960s. In most cases, these models never went into mass production and were only built in order to refine rotary technology to a level that would make it commercially viable. It finally appeared in the form of the Cosmo Sport (S110) which hit the market in 1967 and proved to be an immediate sensation.
Mazda has been an industry leader when it comes to developing innovative powertrain concepts. For decades, while the competition was content to make minor modifications to the conventional piston-based internal combustion engine, Mazda was pioneering the use of rotary engines. Their commitment to this alternative technology was controversial to say the least, but anyone that got behind the wheel of a rotary-powered vehicle could tell immediately that the concept had something thrilling to offer.
Mazda continued to refine the technology, finding innovative ways to improve the rotary engine’s fuel efficiency while further enhancing its power output. Engineers also found ways to marry the engine with turbochargers and superchargers to deliver blistering levels of performance.
Rotary engines feature a unique construction, generating power through the rotational motion of a triangular rotor. Overcoming numerous technical difficulties, Mazda succeeded in commercialising the rotary engine, fitting it in the Mazda 110S in 1967. As the only auto-maker to massproduce the rotary engine, Mazda continued efforts to improve power output, fuel economy and durability, and in 1991 took overall victory at 24 Hours of Le Mans with a rotary engine-powered race car. Over the years, the rotary engine has come to symbolise Mazda's creativity and tireless endeavour in the face of difficult challenges.
The rotary engine has been a prominent feature of the Mazda sports coupé’s line-up since, but the last vehicle to feature it was the RX-8 which went out of production in 2011. This apparently was due to the difficulty marrying performance with environmental emissions requirements.
According to the Mazda motor corporation, RX-VISION represents a vision of the fu- ture that Mazda hopes to one day make into reality; a frontengine, rear-wheel drive sports car with KODO design-based proportions only Mazda could envision, and powered by the next-generation SKYACTIV-R rotary engine.
While mass production is currently on hold, Mazda has never stopped research and development efforts towards the rotary engine. The next rotary engine has been named SKYACTIV-R, expressing the company's determination to take on challenges with conventiondefying aspirations and the latest technology, just as it did when developing SKAYCTIV TECHNOLOGY.
Benefits of the Rotary Engine
The rotary engine is a revolutionary concept first developed by a German engineer named Felix Wankel in the early 1960s. Unlike traditional en- gines which contain the force of exploding gasoline inside each of the engine’s individual chambers, a rotary engine relies on a single chamber and one synchronous system. A triangular rotor spins in a circle pulling fuel and air into the one chamber, compresses it, and then uses the resulting power to propel the vehicle. To picture how the motion works, just imagine drawing with a spirograph.
The advantage of a rotary engine is it can produce ample amounts of power without relying on a oversized six or eightcylinder engine. Performance is further enhanced because smaller motors, predictably, weigh less, and can be adapted for smaller, more aerodynamic vehicles. So not only do drivers in rotary-engine vehicles enjoy more power, they have more opportunities to maximize the propulsive force of the power.
Photo: Quick Pic