The new Mazda MX-30 SUV will feature several technical surprises, including the addition of a new rotary engine with a very specific function. We advance all the secrets of the next model.
Finally, Mazda will reintroduce its famous Wankel Cycle rotary engine into a production vehicle. In this case, according to Automotive News, which in turn cites internal sources of the Japanese company itself, the return of said engine will be included in the renewed operating technology of the Mazda MX-30 electric SUV.
In this way, the great technical novelty in the Mazda MX-30 2023 will be the incorporation of a new evolution of the rotary engine, an engine that will not directly have the function of driving the wheels, but rather that of activating an electric generator that in turn will charge the battery pack (initially, always the electric motor(s) that will move the vehicle at all times).
More than a year ago, Mazda confirmed that the rotary engine would return as an important part of a hybrid version in the MX-30 range. However, months later a Mazda spokesman revealed that the company was still considering using the rotary engine as a range extension system.
As published by Automotive News, the range extension system through a new rotary engine will not directly drive the wheels. Instead, its main function will be to recharge the battery, which will in turn feed the electric motor/motors.
Remember that Mazda was a pioneer in manufacturing the rotary engine for production cars, but the Japanese automaker decided to cancel its production when the commercial life of the RX-8 ended.
The Japanese firm has also ensured that the small size of the rotary motor adapts perfectly to the entire internal structure of a 100% electric vehicle. Said rotary motor will only activate when the battery charge level is nearing its end, at which time said rotary motor will come into action to drive a generator. In this way, the total autonomy of the Mazda MX-30 2023 will be much greater than the current and scarce 200 km range offered by this model according to the WLTP approval cycle.
The return of the rotary motor with a function to extend/lengthen the autonomy of an electric vehicle is one more step in Mazda’s pure electrification strategy since the Japanese brand’s road book contemplates its entire range of automobiles is one hundred percent electric by the year 2030.
