Mazda's first production rotary engine in a decade is a range extender for a plug-in hybrid.
Mazda
At long last, the rotary engine is back. Over a decade after the RX-8 was cancelled, Mazda has announced an all-new rotary powerplant that’s going into production. It’s just not in an RX-8 successor, or an RX-7 successor, or a sports car at all. It’s 2023, which means it’s in a plug-in hybrid compact SUV.
The new engine was revealed in the European-market Mazda MX-30 R-EV. Americans know the MX-30 as the short-ranged, sole battery electric option from Mazda. The EV is sold exclusively in California with limited availability (and demand, from what we’ve heard), but the range-extender version sounds more compelling.
The R-EV uses an 830-cc rotary gasoline engine to extend the 53-mile all-electric range (on the more generous WLTP drive cycle). That engine provides 75 hp, but not to the wheels. The ICE exclusively charges the battery, with all propulsion coming from the electric motor. That motor makes 167 hp in this application, with 191 lb-ft of torque on tap.
As you can see, Mazda isn’t big on the excessive numbers of most EVs. The MX-30 R-EV hits 62 mph in a leisurely but acceptable 9.1 seconds, with the focus on sensibility not spine-snapping acceleration. That manifests in the claimed weight figure. While it’s not unusual for plug-ins to near 5000 lbs, the MX-30 R-EV weighs in at 3920 lbs.
It’s unclear whether the R-EV will ever make it to the United States. In 2021 an executive confirmed that the rotary version would make it stateside, but reached for comment today a spokesperson said that the company has “no update to share on U.S. availability of MX-30 PHEV.” She did, however, note that Mazda introduces models on a market-by-market basis. So while it’s still possible that slow MX-30 sales have scared the automaker off of its original course, we may get a U.S. reveal at some point.
Keyword: The Rotary Is Back, But It's In a Plug-in Hybrid Mazda Crossover