Mazda Announces Rotary Engine Set to Return. There May Be a Few Clouds on the Horizon

Automologist MAC brings us up to speed leading up to the launch of the 2023 MX-30.

Presenting the new MX-30 R-EV.

Mazda’s long association with the Wankel Rotary Engine is set to continue with its return in the 2023 MX-30 slated to be revealed on Friday, January 13th. Okay, so perhaps Mazda could have put a little more thought into the new launch and name.

The MX-30 had previously been on sale as an EV yet despite its rugged looks and flashy interior with allegedly athletic handling, the EV failed to excite the buying public, largely due to its woeful range of just about 160 kilometres, according to the EPA official figures; the real world told us it was more like 115 kilometres and all at a rather lethargic 0-100 kph of just under 9 seconds. And to a deeply superstitious Europe, nothing good ever happens on Friday the 13th.

I always liked the ‘Suicide Doors’ on my Mazda RX8 and I am glad they have retained them in the new configuration.

Details about the new car are still pretty scarce awaiting the big reveal this Friday. About the only thing we know for sure is that there will be a new logo that incorporates the old Rotary triangle with an ‘e’ sitting inside it. There are rumours going about, though, that the rotary engine will not be connected to the drivetrain, but will act as an onboard generator or range extender where the relative lightness, compared to the engine capacity, will be an effective combination.

Hmmm, haven’t I seen this before?

This will be the first time that the rotary engine returns to the Mazda line-up since the end of the old RX8 production run. Since then, the company has not found a use for the power unit that promised so much but always failed to deliver. No mention on the pricing though but we presume that it will be higher than the previous MX-30, which bombed at USD34,000.