50th Anniversary Rotary Engine
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| Mazda 16X Rotary Engine |
Mazda is working on a new rotary engine, and it is expected to come out next year. It will be a range-extender for an electric car, which will most likely be based on the next-generation Mazda3. Although the rotary engine seems to be getting sucked in with the funnel for a more fuel efficient motor, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
According to one of Mazda’s top engineers, the rotary’s future is much brighter than simply being a range-extender for an Eco machine. According to The Motor Report, Nobuhiro Yamamoto, program manager for the Mazda MX-5, said that a new RX-7 sports car was in the works and that it will be launched in 2017, the 50th anniversary year of the Mazda Cosmo Sport, Mazda’s first rotary-powered car and the first volume production car to feature such an engine.
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| Drawing of 2017 RX-7 |
He revealed that the "new RX-7 would feature Mazda’s still-in-development 16X rotary engine, which will retain the previous 13B’s twin-rotor design but will see its displacement increase to 1.6 liters." Peak output will likely come close to 300 horsepower, and that's without help from a turbocharger.
The last RX-7 on the market was in 2002, with twin turbochargers it put out only 280 hp and a top speed of 155 (factory limit). In 2017 we should see a more fuel efficient, lighter, and faster RX-7.
Yamamoto explained that Mazda’s latest SKYACTIV technology will help the new rotary engine be much more fuel-efficient than previous versions. He also said there would be no hybrid option for the RX-7 because of its sports car appeal.
In the U.S. the next RX-7 is expected to come as a strict two-seater.
Sadly, five more years is still a very, very long time to wait. But when it's here the RX-7 will be a thing of beauty.
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