Rotary
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Mazda has reportedly ceased production of its RX-8 sports car, the only rotary-powered vehicle currently on the market, and possibly the last. The reason is due to falling sales and an inability to meet toughening emissions and fuel economy regulations all around the world. Last year Mazda only managed to sell 1,134 RX-8s, a 49 percent drop from the year before. The car’s best year was 2004, where Mazda sold a total of 23,690 examples. The RX-8 has already been pulled from the European market, and in the U.S. there are only around 300 cars left as of August 1 for a 118-day supply. Sales...
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Mazda Working On New Rotary Engine, May Partner With Audi: ReportFor years, rumors have been flying in all directions on a Mazda RX-9, incorporating everything from electric turbos to hybrids systems. Most recently, we reported on the latter, with a Mazda source reportedly stating that the RX-9 would use a Toyota hybrid drive system to supplement the range and...
Chris Weiss -
Germany’s Rotary Super Cars Working On Four-Rotor Predator GTRemember the awesome four-rotor Mazda 787B race car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans 20 years ago and is now set to run the famous French circuit during a demonstration ahead of this weekend’s 24 hour race? Well, it turns out that the 787B’s appearance this weekend won't be the last...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Mazda 787B Four-Rotor Race Car Returning To Le Mans After Winning 20 Years AgoBack in 1991, when the McLaren F1 supercar had just been born and the Persian Gulf War was still raging, Mazda was working on a new endurance racer, one with a four-rotor Wankel rotary engine. The race car was the Mazda 787B and it would eventually go on to take overall victory at the 24 Hours of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Video: Revolutionary New Engine, 90 Percent Lower EmissionsThere may be life in the old dog yet - engines have never been the cleanest of machines, requiring fossil fuels for their power and releasing all manner of gases, elements and chemicals through the combustion process. Carmakers have come on in leaps and bounds over the last few decades to make the...
Antony Ingram -
Mazda Teases New RX With Facebook QuestionRumors, reports, and ruminations on the next generation of Mazda's RX line of cars have never been in short supply. But now Mazda is stirring the pot via its Facebook fan page. The latest locus of loco is a question asked of Mazda's fans: "If you were to design a new RX model, what key features...
Nelson Ireson -
With the RX-8 sports car expected to be discontinued after the current model year, Mazda, the last bastion of the Wankel rotary engine, will be without a car in its lineup featuring the free-spinning engine. Why the predicament? Because Mazda just can’t seem to engineer the rotary to meet its own internal fuel economy and emissions standards. The rotary engine is a love-it or hate-it piece of engineering. Marvelously simple and compact yet viciously inefficient, variants of the spinning triangle have seen use in Mazda's cars for over 40 years. But that robust classic tech won't do the...
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Mazda Design Chief Maeda Talks More RX-7 Revival PlansThe RX-7 might make a comeback, but it'll take a comeback of the U.S. economy to make it happen.
Nelson Ireson -
Report: New Mazda RX-7 May Replace RX-8Due for launch in late 2011, the new car is expected to eschew outright performance and prestige in favor of affordability and reliability.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
More Details On Mazda RX-7 SuccessorThe upcoming replacement to the RX-7 will bring back Mazda's rotary coupe roots.
Nelson Ireson -
Mazda’s Next-Gen Rotary Not Up To ScratchThere’s no word on when we’ll see the 16X in production trim but the most likely scenario will see its introduction in the next-generation RX-8 sports car around 2011.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Insider Reveals Details About Next-Gen MX-5 And New RX-9The launch of the next-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata has reportedly been pushed back as far as 2012 because of a number of major changes in store for the car. Not only is Mazda developing a new generation of lightweight platforms and fuel-efficient powertrains, but a new coupe version is also...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Reuben Zammit has created a number of stunning designs over the past 12 months but unlike most designers he has been fortunate enough to have some of his designs approved for production. His Bugatti Type 12-2 Streamliner concept, which we saw earlier today, is pure fantasy but his new X3 sports coupe concept is built around an old Mazda RX-7 FD chassis and could actually be produced today with a minimum of fuss. The proposed engine for the concept is a three-rotor turbocharged rotary engine developing more than 700hp. The target of the project was to create a chassis that’s more rigid...
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Mazda’s Taiki Concept In DetailHaving so far kept you up to speed on Mazda’s upcoming Taiki concept, we are now able to give you even more detailed information on this Tokyo Motor Show highlight. Being the fourth car in the Nagare series (the others being the Nagare, Ryuga and Hakaze), the Mazda Taiki continues on with the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
More Details And Photos Of Mazda’s Taiki ConceptMazda was one of the first carmakers to reveal its upcoming concepts planned for this month’s Tokyo Motor Show with the reveal last week of the stunning Taiki Concept and an all-new rotary engine. The only solid info released with the concept was that it will be powered by a larger...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Mazda Unveils Taiki Concept And Next-Gen Rotary EngineOne of the more interesting concepts we’ve seen in a long time has just been revealed ahead of its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month. The new concept is called the Mazda Taiki and is the latest in a string of organic-influenced concept cars including the previous Nagare, Ryuga...
Kenneth Hall -
50th Anniversary Of The Wankel Rotary EngineBack in 1957, German engineer Felix Wankel displayed a prototype for a new internal combustion engine that used spinning rotors instead of reciprocating pistons to complete each engine cycle. The design allowed for a lightweight and compact engine with less moving parts that provided much smoother...
Kenneth Hall