Mazda revives the rotary engine after 10 years

Mazda has brought its rotary engine back from the dead a decade after retiring it.

The RX-8 sports car was the last Mazda to be powered by a Wankel rotary engine, but this time the technology is being used as a range extender in a plug-in hybrid car.

The MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV was revealed at Friday's Brussels auto show in Belgium, and uses a petrol rotary engine as a power generator that along with a 17.8-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery gives the compact crossover an electric-only range of 85km. Mazda said that was sufficient to use the car in electric mode for most daily driving needs.

The MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV’s electric motor has outputs of 125kW and 260Nm. The single-rotor rotary engine makes 55kW and is more compact than a reciprocating engine with similar output, Mazda said. 

The car accelerates from 0-100km/h in a claimed 9.1 seconds with a top speed limited to 140km/h. The plug-in hybrid can be charged from 20% to 80% in around 25 minutes on a DC fast charger.