Mazda Rotary engine to return in MX-30 as range extender

MANILA: Mazda will unveil a new powertrain option for its MX-30 at the Brussels Motor Show in 2023, staying true to its multi-solution strategy for addressing the global problems of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

The innovative plug-in hybrid powertrain of Mazda's compact crossover will be available on the European market starting in the spring of this year. It will include an electric generator powered by a newly built rotary engine.

The Wankel engine is a type of internal combustion engine that transforms pressure into rotating motion utilizing an eccentric rotary configuration. German engineer Hanns-Dieter Paschke created it, and German engineer Felix Wankel came up with the idea.

The Wankel engine's rotor, which generates the rotating motion, has a triangle-like shape with fewer curved edges. The rotor revolves around a central output shaft inside of an oval-shaped casing. By using toothed gearing, the rotor rotates in a hula-hoop pattern around the central output shaft.

A 798 cc L8A two-rotor Wankel was the engine used in the first Mazda Cosmo prototype. At the 1963 Tokyo Motor Show, both the engine and the vehicle were displayed. Hollow cast iron apex seals minimized chatter marks by reducing vibration by altering their resonance frequency. Dry-sump lubrication was used. Rotor radius increased to 98 mm (3.9 in) from 40A, but depth decreased to 56 mm (2.2 in).

Mazda produced and sold the Mazda RX-7, a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car with a rotary engine, throughout the course of three generations between 1978 and 2002. Each model used a small, light Wankel rotary engine.

During the years 2002 to 2012, the Japanese automaker Mazda produced the sports car known as the RX-8. At the North American International Auto Show in 2001, it made its debut. It is the RX-7's successor and, like those models before it in the RX lineup, is powered by a rotary Wankel engine.

A significant accomplishment was made in 1991 when the number 55 Mazda 787B crossed the line in the Le Mans 24 Hour competition. The most prestigious endurance race in the world was originally won by Mazda, a Japanese automaker. Furthermore, Mazda accomplished this feat using a totally original engine — the rotary engine — which not only enthralled spectators at the racetrack with its ear-piercing roar but also came to represent Mazda's "never stop challenging spirit."

Most people are unaware that the 787B's victory in 1991 was the outcome of 13 years of toiling away to develop the rotary engine for racing. Even before Mazda set foot on a racetrack, it secured its place on the automotive map. Due to the promise of simplicity, smoothness, compactness, high RPMs, and a high power-to-weight ratio, rotary engines were sought after by many automakers; nevertheless, only Mazda was able to create a type that proved to be dependable.

The Mazda MX-30, the company's first all-electric vehicle, went into production in 2020. The new electric propulsion system from Mazda, e-Skyactiv, is included with the Mazda MX-30 for 2023. The new SUV's front-wheel-drive powertrain, which combines a 35.5kWh lithium-ion battery with a 107kW (145 PS) AC synchronous electric motor, gives it a roughly 200 kilometers driving range.

The system battery can be charged to 80% by employing DC quick charging, and is sized to provide the best compromise between a driving range that gives customers peace of mind and CO2 emissions from an LCA (Life-Cycle Assessment) standpoint.

The Skyactiv-Vehicle Architecture of the 2023 Mazda MX-30 has been specially designed to go along with the car's naturally smooth all-electric driving characteristics. Customers can enjoy a particularly peaceful, fluid driving experience with the new SUV's full i-Activsense safety features, which was a crucial requirement for the engineers because they needed the EV to operate just as well as every other Mazda vehicle.

This new path for Mazda in the development of powertrain technology is reinforced by the most recent manifestation of the company's highly regarded Kodo design philosophy. With center-pillarless freestyle doors, a framed glasshouse, and unfussy styling that highlights the MX-30's appeal as a solid mass, the cabin seems open and expansive.

The driver is at the center of the ergonomically superb interior, which also has a floating center console, Mazda's first seven-inch touch-screen air-conditioning panel, and a variety of novel, eco-friendly materials including cork and fabric door trim made from recycled plastic bottle fibers.

Standard interior equipment includes a windscreen projecting head-up display, 8-way electric adjustable drivers’ seat, a color 8-inch TFT dial display, a leather wrapped steering wheel and chrome trim accents.

Staying true to the ‘Jinbai Ittai — car and driver as one’ ethos found across Mazda’s combustion engine range — the Mazda MX-30 has been designed to deliver the intuitive responses, natural feedback and involving handling expected from a Mazda.

Electric G-Vectoring Control Plus (e-GVC Plus) enhances chassis performance by using motor torque to optimize the front-rear load shift for improved stability and the MX-30’s Skyactiv-Vehicle Architecture is specifically tailored to compliment the smooth power delivery of the e-Skyactiv drivetrain. The dynamic focus also extends to a throttle pedal that delivers a seamless transition between linear power delivery and smooth regeneration on lift off, equally, the braking system offers a seamless transfer between energy regeneration and hydraulic brake action.

Every MX-30 has a thorough baseline safety specification, and GT Sport Tech enhances this with a variety of additional active safety features and a 360-degree vision monitor. Its success in the most current Euro NCAP testing, where it received the maximum five-star rating with 91% and 87% ratings in its respective adult and kid occupancy categories, recently reinforced the Mazda MX-30's safety credentials. With regard to all vehicles tested in the most recent 2020 Euro NCAP testing, the 91% grade represents the best adult occupant safety performance to date.

Photos from Mazda

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