Talk Morgan Forums Thread Like Summary - Mazda brings back the rotary

Something caught my attention when I was just skimming through a Mazda spam mail, the return of the Wankel engine!

The snappily named "Mazda MX-30 R-EV Edition R" is a plug-in hybrid with a rotary petrol engine that drives a generator to charge the battery!

Mazda says of the engine "...it combines the benefits of being lightweight, nearly vibration free and, since it doesn’t power the wheels directly, it can always run at the ideal load speed for optimal efficiency."

They claim a 53-mile range on pure battery power plus another 400 miles with the engine running.

www.mazda.co.uk/cars/mazda-mx-30/mazda-mx-30-r-ev/

At a starting price of £38K it won't be gracing my drive anytime soon but it seems an intriguing idea.

& there's the intriguing possibility they'll put the hybrid powertrain into the RX9

Now *that* would be something to replace an i8 (said the hybrid i8 owner ;-) )

Will

Would be interesting my late fathers BR training book diesel traction for enginemen is a great read if you like engines etc. The Deltic on BR was 3300 bhp and had 50,000 lbf or torque based upon two converted Napier marine engine units. Big bastards driving DC generators to drive DC motors in 1961.

The steam traction one is even better IMHO

I drove the EV version a few years ago. It was impressive as a small SUV, but terrible range. As a hybrid really rather promising!