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I saw speculate elsewhere that this might be slated for hydrogen power. So I googled and there's actually a ton of hydrogen stations near me, compared to the precisely one (at a military base) E85 station.
I would totally dig a small hydrogen-powered rotary + electric car. With brapping zero-emissions and electric torque boost? Game on.
As stated in the pic, patents are just that. A “just in case”.
I loved their patent for the concept they had. The rear end basically formed a huge buttress/tunnel near the rear of the car. Helped cut the aero significantly and made the car look really good. However, it was only an exercise. A shame too because the car would’ve been a seller!
Huge benefits running hydrogen and gas together at the same time. And much better emissions when mixing the two together, much more complete burn among other things
Oh—did someone share my IG story on RX7Club?? Thank you! I’m so thrilled—I’ve been on this forum since I was a young teen in the early 2000s (previous account). I am honored!
This is a pretty cool patent, right? I was also really intrigued by the shape. I couldn’t really put my finger on it…then I realized it reminds me of the old school 3-Rotor Group S Rally Prototype: RX-7S. It was powered by the 13G from the 757 LeMans car. Coincidence or easter egg? We may never know, but I thought the resemblance was notable.
Ikuo Maeda, Mazda’s Head of Design, has stated that it is his life’s work to bring the RX-Vision to fruition. I hope he realizes this dream.
Another recent patent (that focuses on electric motors) suggests that an iteration of the “Vision” design may very well be in the pipeline:
Once again, patents aren’t a guarantee of future products. This rotorhead sincerely hopes so, though.
Honestly, I'd think this is more of a publicity stunt. Trot the old rotary possibility out to generate buzz, then introduce some new cuv or something.
as much as I'd like to see another rotary engine, the fact of the matter is that it's an inefficient engine on many levels. Short of a complete reimagining of the Wankel, there's no long term sustainability for these oil consuming engines.
in short, I'm not excited, and my breath is not being held.
Honestly, I'd think this is more of a publicity stunt. Trot the old rotary possibility out to generate buzz, then introduce some new cuv or something.
as much as I'd like to see another rotary engine, the fact of the matter is that it's an inefficient engine on many levels. Short of a complete reimagining of the Wankel, there's no long term sustainability for these oil consuming engines.
in short, I'm not excited, and my breath is not being held.
In my opinion, it’s possible with a hybrid powerplant. A rotary-only car is likely a complete nonstarter.
It may be more unlikely than not, but I think it’s really important to underscore the importance that the rotary has at Mazda. This is from Mazda:
Mazda is the only carmaker in the world to successfully bring to market and mass-produce the rotary engine. It is a symbol of the company’s tirelessly challenging spirit and, as the soul of the Mazda brand, it represents the unique and innovative technology that helped establish the brand and create a solid bond between Mazda and its customers. That is why rotary engine research and development continues today, even though there are no rotary-powered cars in the current product lineup.
I assure you they are trying everything they can to bring something to fruition. I hope they are successful. I understand the pessimism though. It has been a while.
You can honestly say their rumours always work. Not only does it generate a ton of traffic to those general auto websites, but there’s always a debate that forms on our forum.
Unless you’re living under a rock, this info is just hear-say. Yes, they might’ve submitted and gained the patent, but it’s just that. A record they’ve thought of it and it’s their design even if they just did an exercise on it.
The way forward is electricfiation. Mazda is gathering enough pace and resources to go full electric. Thus their mx-30. It’s a proof of concept and shows they’ve got EV’s coming down the pipeline.
ICE in general is numbered. Regardless of it being piston or rotary.
The rotary will always be Mazda, but it is now a nostalgic piece. Very much the same as the cork they used to make.
You can honestly say their rumours always work. Not only does it generate a ton of traffic to those general auto websites, but there’s always a debate that forms on our forum.
Unless you’re living under a rock, this info is just hear-say. Yes, they might’ve submitted and gained the patent, but it’s just that. A record they’ve thought of it and it’s their design even if they just did an exercise on it.
The way forward is electricfiation. Mazda is gathering enough pace and resources to go full electric. Thus their mx-30. It’s a proof of concept and shows they’ve got EV’s coming down the pipeline.
ICE in general is numbered. Regardless of it being piston or rotary.
The rotary will always be Mazda, but it is now a nostalgic piece. Very much the same as the cork they used to make.
It's a little more than here-say, as their Head of Design (son of the 1st Gen RX-7 designer) said bringing the RX-Vision into fruition is his life's work. He keeps a model of it on his desk. Whether it will happen or not is one thing, but Mazda's leadership has made their intentions quite clear over the past few years. Then we had a global pandemic. The recent patents are confirmation that they haven't completely abandoned the effort.
A variation of the MX-30 will also have a rotary range extender. Obviously the rotary isn't required in this use case but Mazda is keeping the rotary alive. Oh, the MX-30 also has cork in it--so imagine that.
As far as the ICE is concerned. I generally agree, but Mazda is actively developing a NEW inline six power plant. Toyota seems to be helping with this. That said, they are making a massive push towards electrification and hybrid technology (also with the help of Toyota).
Last edited by bossbattleRX7; Jan 13, 2022 at 11:08 AM.
Ha, you beat me to it and took the words right out of my mouth. Very cool patent yes and I'm game for a little e-rotary for sure. Great eye on the 3-Rotor Group S Rally Prototype RX-7S too! I think you're onto something. I am not a fan of the video game car so I'll pass on the vision personally. And I don't see why it's so hard to get it made. Hiroshima literally rose from the ashes of a nuclear attack and rebuilt their city. Building a car is nothing, change your perspective.
But imo. Regardless of 'clicks' (who gauges anything by that anyways) there's very little excitement in the real world / reality for mazda today. Just because a site generates traffic, those 'dollars don't make cents' because people 'vote' with their pocket book and mazda enthusiasts (in general) are frugal to put it kindly and from what I've gathered are not buying new product. I just spent an evening at the local dealership ordering the new mazda 3 turbo hatch for my wife and I can say with absolute certainty that the brand has ZERO life in it. We were the only people there on a Friday evening and employee's were just standing about twiddling their thumbs. Unless you consider 'brand enthusiasm' to be computer screen savers and lame racing banners everywhere like they were highly active in racing as a 'hardcore motorsports' brand like what I consider Hyundai to be attempting today. On top of that, there's a huge lift inside the showroom with literally... nothing on it??? Like what?!? I personally think if mazda were serious about saving their *** they'd send out their race cars on tours to dealer + host car events, etc which would at least get people inside their showrooms and then you'd have the slightest possibility of selling a new product. And I'm talking about one of the largest North American dealers here. There's definitely budget for something like this. Just a thought.
And I'd estimate they've got like 5 of those CX-30 e-car's meant for CA only and they're also just sitting there. My wife even said 'who can use a car with only 100 miles range?' If we were to try and visit her folks in the Bay Area, (who are local btw) it's 50 miles each way and this vehicle wouldn't cover it. But mazda / automotive analytical statistics say otherwise. Right.
Ha, you beat me to it and took the words right out of my mouth. Very cool patent yes and I'm game for a little e-rotary for sure. Great eye on the 3-Rotor Group S Rally Prototype RX-7S too! I think you're onto something. I am not a fan of the video game car so I'll pass on the vision personally. And I don't see why it's so hard to get it made. Hiroshima literally rose from the ashes of a nuclear attack and rebuilt their city. Building a car is nothing, change your perspective.
Well said. No one can guarantee Mazda will do anything, but any suggestions that Mazda won’t do it because it’s “hard” need to remember Mazda’s history. I suspect Toyota’s support and bandwidth is giving them the support they need to make this happen.
If it doesn’t happen, it’s due to circumstances and reasons that only Mazda understands.
I recommend everyone read this every once in a while:
The streak of defiance and adventure that runs through Mazda cars has its roots in the heritage of Hiroshima, our home in Japan. Like the legendary phoenix, Hiroshima rose from the ashes of nuclear destruction. Refusing to stop dreaming of a better future, the people in the region have overcome daunting challenges over and over again. The spirit of courage and grit that has underpinned Hiroshima’s successful rebuilding has continued to be an inspiration to Mazda.
It's AWD like the NSX but mid front rotary instead of the mid rear V6:
24 and 25 are in-wheel electric motors (2x 17kW / 23hp compared to NSX 2x 27kW / 36 hp)
11+12+13 is the 3-rotor engine (target hp??? compared to NSX V6 500hp)
14 is 3rd electric motor for the rear (25kW / 33hp compared to 35 kW / 45 hp)
15 is the torque tube/shaft
16+17 is the transaxle
Last edited by neit_jnf; Jan 17, 2022 at 12:27 AM.
