It was just last year that Mazda finally entered the electrification market with its first all-electric offering, the MX-30 SUV. It has the typical Mazda styling architecture, which isn’t a bad thing because it looks rather good, as Mazdas usually do. The petrol version, the CX-30, is a popular model for the brand and so it made sense to base their first EV on this platform. While most automakers have gone from the internal combustion engine to plug-in hybrid with a combustion engine coupled to an electric motor, and then to fully electric. At first, it looked like Mazda was jumping a whole step there, but in an odd turn of events we now have details of a plug-in hybrid that should be seen sometime in 2024, possibly sooner. This news is spreading like wildfire, not because people have been waiting for an offering like this, but because the news has been linked to the iconic Mazda rotary engine thanks to a previously released image of a new trademarked logo that resembled a rotary emblem combined with an ‘e’.
Most news outlets are throwing up headlines that hint at the return of the almighty pistonless powerplant that hasn’t been in production since the RX-8 was cancelled in 2011. Previous generation engines were turbocharged and capable of massive power when built right, in the RX-8 it was a new design Renesis engine that was normally aspirated and didn’t really like modifications, which is why most RX-8s you see at events have been fitted with the older turbocharged 13B powerplant. Since then rotary fans have been waiting patiently for a new version of their beloved powerplant and there have been many promising hints that haven’t materialised. This latest news promises hope if the headlines are to be believed. The thing is this - there will be a new rotary powerplant coming in the next year or two, but it won’t be one that can be pulled out and retrofitted into another car because it won’t be a proper full-power rotary thanks to it being used merely as the ICE component in a plug-in hybrid setup. I guess it could be pulled out, but that will mean wrecking a brand-new SUV, and then having to do R&D on getting it to be able to make some sort of decent power. At this stage we don’t even know if it will use any parts from the original rotary engines, it may even be half the size. So yeah, there’s no promise of a rotary engine that will satisfy the desires of fans of the setup, not even close. So far it seems like the only thing that will be used from the MX-30 EV in the aftermarket world is that new-design badge by current rotary car owners who’s names start with E…
Take a look at the YouTube video that goes into more detail about the new rotary engine from Mazda that's going to hit the market in the (hopefully near future), but not in the way die-hard fans would want: Confirmed !! Mazda MX-30 PHEV With Rotary Engine To Debut By March 2023 | All you need to know | Car Review Channel
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