Let's take a look at Mazda’s electrified rotary engine, launching in 2022

What you see here, is a photo of Mazda’s upcoming rotary engine, mentioned alongside Mazda’s upcoming straight-six engine due for 2022, during the company’s second quarter financial results briefing.

As you know, Mazda built its name on the back of rotary engines. It’s the only manufacturer to succeed in producing and improving on Dr. Felix Wankel’s inherently flawed design.

While Audi (NSU Ro80), Mercedes-Benz (C111 Concept) gave up on it, Mazda was the only manufacturer who persevered and solved the inherent apex seal wear problem, and along the way, won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991 – the first Asian team to do it, before the FIA banned rotary engines from the race. Sour grapes.

Fast forward to today, strict CO2 emissions regulations means that it’s no longer possible for the RX-7 and RX-8 to return in the same way as we remembered them to be.

However, Mazda still wants to keep that part of its heritage alive, even if it’s just a symbolic homage to the original Mazda Cosmo - its first rotary-powered car.

With the latest advances in powertrain electrification, Mazda might just be able to bring rotary engines back from the dead. Instead of driving the wheels directly, Mazda will magnify the advantages of a rotary engine’s compact dimensions and downplay its weakness in poor fuel consumption and exhaust emissions, using it only as a range-extender engine.

A range-extender engine is basically a small petrol-burning generator that creates electricity to either drive the electric motors or recharge the battery.

By keeping its size small, and setting it to run at a constant, most efficient rpm engine speed, firing it up only when necessary, emissions can be kept low.

Mazda has yet to release any further details on the rotary range extender engine, but the photos released by Mazda sees it installed in what looks like a front-wheel drive car’s engine bay, most probably the Mazda MX-30, which is currently available either as a SkyActiv-G 2.0-litre naturally aspirated mild hybrid (M-Hybrid) in Japan, or as a battery electric vehicle (BEV) in Europe.

Sorry, fans of the RX-Vision concept will need to wait longer. For now, there is still no news on whether the low slung, short tail, long hood RX-Vision concept will make it into production.

The MX-30 REEV (Range-Extended Electric Vehicle) will most likely go on sale sometime around 2022 or 2023, together with Mazda’s new inline 6-cylinder engine that will power the next generation Mazda 6.

Mazda last sold a rotary-powered car in 2012, when the RX-8 was discontinued.

The Mazda MX-30 is under consideration for Malaysia, not as a BEV or REEV, but the M-Hybrid variant might have a chance here.