Rotary engine gives EV longer breath, debut in January
The decision is made. Mazda is launching another car with a rotary engine. Mazda does not hang its historically responsible and striking piece of technology in a new sporty successor to the RXs of yesteryear, but in the MX-30.
The Mazda MX-30 is only available in the Netherlands with a fully electric powertrain. That version has a 35.5 kWh battery with which the electric crossover with striking doors can travel up to 200 kilometers. In Japan, the Mazda MX-30 also exists with a much larger range. However, it does not have an electric powertrain, but simply has a combustion engine. That mild-hybrid Mazda MX-30 is not coming to Europe, but a Mazda MX-30 will be coming this way next year with a longer driving range than the well-known electric variant.
Mazda confirms that the MX-30 R-EV will come to Europe in 2023. As its name suggests, the Mazda MX-30 R-EV has an electric powertrain, but the ‘R’ in the type name points to something special. It stands for ‘rotary engine’. That power source acts as a range extender and charges the battery as soon as it is needed. Mazda does not yet report specifications of this powertrain, but in any case assume that it will go considerably further than the regular MX-30.
More than two years ago we first got wind of the possible arrival of a Mazda MX-30 with a rotary engine. In mid-2021 his arrival became less obvious, but now he really appears. Inquiries with the Dutch importer show that Mazda will unveil the MX-30 R-EV on January 14, 2023 in Brussels.
After the disappearance of the RX-8, Mazda never again delivered a car with a rotary engine in Europe.
Rotary engines have always played an important role in Mazda’s history. In Europe, after the disappearance of the RX-8, no Mazda has come up with such a power source, but the brand has never completely abandoned technology. Mazda used the Wankel engine as a range extender in a small fleet of electric Mazdas 2 and the RX-Vision concept car presented in 2015 was also equipped with a rotary engine. Traditionally, Wankel engines have a relatively high fuel and oil consumption. Mazda previously stated that these unfavorable characteristics are less apparent when the power source functions as a range extender. Because the relatively small motor does not drive the wheels directly, but runs at the optimum possible speed to charge the battery pack, the disadvantages are minimized. Advantages of the rotary engine as a range extender: it would run relatively vibration-free and fairly quietly.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl