For years, we’ve heard rumors that Mazda will bring the engine back and give us a new sports car to succeed the RX-7 and RX-8. However, it is not surprising that that did not happen. Well, technically Mazda has brought the engine back, but it serves as a a range extender on the MX-30, it’s definitely not a sports car. But maybe, just maybe, that’s about to change.
CarBuzz noticed that Mazda filed six patents with the Japanese Patent Office, all related to a new twin-rotor rotary engine. Unlike the single-rotor engine used in the MX-30, this twin-rotor design appears to be designed to power cars rather than serve as a range extender.
What car? We can’t say for sure, but it’s definitely the RX-9 (or whatever Mazda decides to call the RX-8’s follow-up), right? It must be so. Why did Mazda develop a new rotary engine? Just to tease us about the possibility of finally getting what we really want, only to never make it to production? In fact, that may be what will happen. We’ve been burned before, and we don’t want to give up hope until there’s a real car in front of us that we can drive.
If the RX-9 actually goes into production, it will need to be much more fuel-efficient than the RX-8’s 16. city mpg and 22 highway ratings mpg. (Technically, the automatic transmission is a little better on gas, but we don’t like to admit that it comes with anything more than a manual.) And that’s exactly what three of them do. The patents focus on: changing propeller design can improve fuel efficiency. So maybe there’s actually some potential here.
XeBuzz There’s a great, in-depth analysis of each patent, so if you want to learn more be sure to check out the original article. And maybe, perhaps let yourself feel the tiniest bit of hope that we’ll get one more rotary-powered sports car from Mazda before everything goes electric.
