As reported by Mazda
Mazda Motor Corporation is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, following nine successful decades in which Mazda’s innovative spirit and willingness to try new things, has led to the creation of some remarkable automotive technologies benefitting millions of motorists. One of Mazda’s most popular innovations has been the incredibly smooth rotary engine that in its latest ‘RENESIS’ form, generating 231ps, that powered the unique four-door coupe Mazda RX-8 sportscar.
Today’s Mazda rotary engine has a fascinating history. Invented by the engineering ‘dreamer’ German Felix Wankel, the rotary engine which carried his name so impressed Mazda’s Kenichi Yamamoto that Mazda bought the patent in 1961. The first ‘Wankel’ engine delivered to Hiroshima suffered many problems that the genius Yamamoto-San and his engineers cured.
In its first production version (the 1967 Cosmo Sport) the Mazda dual-rotor engine had trochoidal housings holding triangular-shaped rotor-discs with the eccentric shaft running through the middle. It was a smooth and high-revving engine because the pressure it produced turned the eccentric shaft directly, and did not need to be converted to a spinning motion by connecting rods as is necessary in a conventional piston engine. This rotary technology would go on to power nearly two million Mazda road cars and the Mazda 787B racecar that won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991.
A ‘Eureka’ Moment – Hydrogen and the Rotary Engine
When Mazda engineers first tried hydrogen-fuel in their rotary engine in 1990, it quickly became apparent that rotary technology had several advantages over piston engines using the same fuel. The hydrogen/air mix in a rotary engine is more thorough and stronger as the intake process can take longer and there are no intake and exhaust valves to heat up. Over the last 20 years, Mazda has developed its hydrogen rotary engine to production status, and a fleet of ‘long-term test vehicles’ (RX-8 Hydrogen RE and the Mazda5 Hydrogen RE Hybrid) which is currently being leased to customers in Japan and Europe.
Simple and Smart – DISI Petrol + i-Stop
A fuel-saving technology that is now available to all buyers of the Mazda3 is Mazda’s unique i-Stop system. Mazda engineers were determined to achieve the fastest possible re-start for their system which idles the engine whenever the car stops.
Mazda Motor Corporation is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, following nine successful decades in which Mazda’s innovative spirit and willingness to try new things, has led to the creation of some remarkable automotive technologies benefitting millions of motorists. One of Mazda’s most popular innovations has been the incredibly smooth rotary engine that in its latest ‘RENESIS’ form, generating 231ps, that powered the unique four-door coupe Mazda RX-8 sportscar.
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| Photo: Mazda |
Today’s Mazda rotary engine has a fascinating history. Invented by the engineering ‘dreamer’ German Felix Wankel, the rotary engine which carried his name so impressed Mazda’s Kenichi Yamamoto that Mazda bought the patent in 1961. The first ‘Wankel’ engine delivered to Hiroshima suffered many problems that the genius Yamamoto-San and his engineers cured.
In its first production version (the 1967 Cosmo Sport) the Mazda dual-rotor engine had trochoidal housings holding triangular-shaped rotor-discs with the eccentric shaft running through the middle. It was a smooth and high-revving engine because the pressure it produced turned the eccentric shaft directly, and did not need to be converted to a spinning motion by connecting rods as is necessary in a conventional piston engine. This rotary technology would go on to power nearly two million Mazda road cars and the Mazda 787B racecar that won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991.
A ‘Eureka’ Moment – Hydrogen and the Rotary Engine
When Mazda engineers first tried hydrogen-fuel in their rotary engine in 1990, it quickly became apparent that rotary technology had several advantages over piston engines using the same fuel. The hydrogen/air mix in a rotary engine is more thorough and stronger as the intake process can take longer and there are no intake and exhaust valves to heat up. Over the last 20 years, Mazda has developed its hydrogen rotary engine to production status, and a fleet of ‘long-term test vehicles’ (RX-8 Hydrogen RE and the Mazda5 Hydrogen RE Hybrid) which is currently being leased to customers in Japan and Europe.
Simple and Smart – DISI Petrol + i-Stop
A fuel-saving technology that is now available to all buyers of the Mazda3 is Mazda’s unique i-Stop system. Mazda engineers were determined to achieve the fastest possible re-start for their system which idles the engine whenever the car stops.
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| Photo: Mazda |