A new patent describes an exhaust gas recirculation system for a rotary. Mazda has teased new rotaries with a pair of recent concept cars. A rotary-powered performance car would be the perfect halo for Mazda. While Mazda has a rich history of performance cars, its current line-up lacks passion, except the MX-5, of course. One almost-guaranteed way to bring enthusiasts back to the brand would be to launch a new rotary engine, and, based on a recent patent filing, that’s exactly what it may be doing. Read: Mazda Keeps Teasing Us With Rotary Sports Cars That Never Leave The Screen Reports about Mazda putting a rotary back in a sports car, rather than burying one in a range-extender, have been circulating for years, and the Iconic SP concept and last year’s Vision X-Coupe only made them louder. The latter came with a turbocharged rotary. Building a Wankel for a show car that never moves is one thing, but getting one through emissions and durability testing for a production model is another. According to a recent filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office, Mazda’s work on a new rotary appears to be continuing, as it has patented a new exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system for this engine type. Most current combustion engines feature EGR systems to cut emissions, but Mazda’s older rotary engines didn’t have them, given how much more lax emissions regulations were decades ago. Efficient And Powerful The patent describes how Mazda could split the rotary housing’s exhaust pathways between the side port and peripheral ports. The side-port exhaust would feed the turbocharger, while the peripheral port would flow into the engine and through an EGR cooler, helping lower air temperatures. Under heavy load, when the EGR isn’t needed to reduce emissions, this cooled air could be sent directly into the secondary catalytic converter. While this patent does not prove that an exciting new rotary-powered car is just around the corner, Mazda’s continued work on it suggests it is invested in keeping the rotary alive, even in an era of electrification. Whether or not this will lead to a production-spec version of the Iconic SP or Vision-X concepts remains to be seen, but any new rotary will be better than nothing. Mazda Iconic SP Concept Sources: USPTO, Carbuzz
