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Mazda's Tokyo concept foretells of rotary revival

Mazda has long been rumored to be planning a revival of its rotary-powered sports car. Some of those rumors may have come down to wishful thinking as much as concrete information. But now, on the eve of the Tokyo Motor Show, new details have come to light. The Japanese automaker is slated to unveil a two-door sports car concept, previewed in the teaser image above. Little in the way of firm information has been made available prior to the show car's debut, but sources are now citing senior company officials as confirming it has a rotary engine. "It is a two-door, two-seater, Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai told Autocar. "It is a pure sports car design. We have MX-5 and another icon is a rotary sports car. We haven't talked about market reach but this would be in that segment." R&D chief Kiyoshi Fujiwara added: "People think rotary can not meet modern eco demands. The SkyActiv engineers worked on rotary and gave it cutting-edge tech. It is an essential part of our DNA and it [will] just be passed onto future engineers. It is synonymous with the brand. Some time in the future it will return and be called SkyActiv-R." The last time Mazda produced a rotary-powered model, of course, was with the RX-8, which ended production in 2012. That was preceded by three generations of RX-7, the first of which will be celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2018. If it manages to get the Wankel technology up to modern standards, that could provide just the right opportunity for Mazda to launch a new model. Reached for comment, Mazda spokesman Jacob Brown told Autoblog: "While we can confirm that Mazda continues to develop rotary engines, we cannot confirm production of a rotary at this point. Rotaries are one of the signature engineering technologies that define Mazda, and we will continue exploring them to see where they may fit for production applications." Related Video:

Mazda development chief discusses future rotary platform

The switch can again be flicked from "The Rotary Engine is Doomed" to "The Rotary Engine Lives!" Mazda is re-tooling the once nearly forgotten rotary to work as a range extender for hybrid vehicles, with a chance for it to do even more than that. The latest information sounds rather promising for those still holding out a candle for the rotary. Mazda's powertrain development chief, Ichiro Hirose discussed future rotary plans with the Australian Drive at the CX-30 crossover's launch. Hirose told Australia's Drive that Mazda is currently working with a very flexible and efficient rotary hybrid platform that doesn't necessarily come with the heavy emissions and fuel consumption baggage the rotary engine has earlier been saddled with. Hirose calls the rotary-based solution "XEV," referring to its adaptability. "It has the generator function and also it can be used to provide the drive force to give you traction. [...] Because the rotary engine is compact in terms of its packaging size [and] if we should choose to do so we can have the generator, rotary engine and electric motor all in one [driveline] because of the small packaging." The result is an electrified platform that could be made to work as a mild hybrid, series hybrid or a battery electric vehicle with a rotary range extender (if given a plug), depending of the required implementation. It's as if Mazda had a slider to adjust the balance of using a rotary engine and using electric power, to make the platform more of a jack-of-all-trades. Hirose explained: "If you reduce the other way around it could be a pure battery-electric, using really the rotary engine as a range extender and, according to the balance, you can even provide something akin to the series hybrid that is providing the drive force. [...] So, we are looking at a wider coverage and scope. Based on this architecture it allows us to do that, to explore the huge range of applications we can have with the rotary." The platform would also be flexible when it comes to meeting various stringent emissions standards. To be able to sell XEV-based vehicles globally would mean introducing a certain setup for one region and one for another, keeping in mind when the rotary power would kick in and how. While Hirose keeps the question open whether these vehicles would make it for sale in the United States, he says Mazda would be able to make them pass U.S regulations. "I'm just saying that — theoretically — if we were to introduce it in the U.S.

Mazda recalling 88k vehicles for ECU glitch

Need a break from news about the General Motors ignition switch recall? This Mazda recall should serve as a nice change of pace. It involves 88,000 cars across the globe, and focuses on the brand's three most recent (and important) models - the Mazda3, Mazda6 and CX-5.
The issue rests with Mazda's new i-ELOOP regenerative braking system. Apparently there's a problem with the ECU program that monitors whether a capacitor in the regen system is working. Acceleration is affected, and in severe cases, the engine could stall. There have been no mention of accidents or injuries due to the issue, and the glitch itself can be cured by an ECU reflash.
As i-ELOOP is a fairly new system for Mazda, particularly in the US, the total number of affected models is rather low, with just 6,500 US cars affected. Europe is hit hardest, with 38,000 models while Mazda's home market of Japan adds 27,600 cars and crossovers. Affected models were built between October 2012 and January 2014.