MAZDA SkyActiv-R Sportscar... New RX-7?

[GoCougs]

Finally a fantastic interior - basic, no infotainment, not overwrought. It can't be production though as there are no airbags but still, it's a step in the right direction.

[AutobahnSHO]

Rearview cameras are now required equipment.

So, yes; it gets a screen. Somewhere.

Rearview mirror.

[12,000 RPM]

Finally a fantastic interior - basic, no infotainment, not overwrought. It can't be production though as there are no airbags but still, it's a step in the right direction.

Fast touchscreen infotainment is OK

[Payman]

Mazda's new rotary engine may be even more revolutionary than expected.

The automaker has confirmed that it is working on a revival of the Wankel rotary motor, which it last produced in 2012, and has even unveiled a concept car with one called the RX-Vision.

Poor fuel economy and emissions forced the technology to the bench, but Mazda has continued to develop it with an eye on improving its performance in these areas and increasing its torque output, while maintaining the compact design's high power density and smooth operation.

Related Image

wankel-no-spark.jpgExpand / Contract
A Mazda rotary engine (Mazda)
Details on the new engine have not been revealed, Mazda's head of R&D, Kyoshi Fujiwara tells CarsGuide that turbocharging will play large role, while suggesting that the spark plug could become a supporting character.

One problem with the rotary design is that the spark plug needs to be located outside of the combustion chamber to allow the rotor to clear it. This makes it difficult to precisely control the combustion process. Fujiwara says this issue has been solved, suggesting a move to Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition, or HCCI.

HCCI is a combustion method that combines high compression with a lean air-fuel mixture to burn gasoline without the need for a spark plug. It's simply heated enough by the compression to self-combust, similar to how a diesel engine works. A spark is still used at certain times, often at very low and high rpms, but is largely avoided.

Automakers, including Mazda, have been developing piston engines with the technology for years. Their main advantage is a fuel efficiency boost of 15 percent or more, which also leads to lower emissions, but the precise management of engine temperature and the fuel mixture required to make them work has kept them out of production, so far.

Fujiwara would not confirm that the new rotary uses HCCI, but did say that it is definitely not a diesel.

When it comes to answers, that sounds like the engineer version of spin.

[Cookie Monster]

Wow, that sounds amazing.

[12,000 RPM]

Wow, that sounds amazing.

Not hard to do without an actual product

[Laconian]

Cool! I remember hearing about HCCI like a decade ago. I thought it was a dead end, since there are no production implementations of it so far.

[Cookie Monster]

Not hard to do without an actual product

The article said they stated it was solved or something, so I was guessing there's at least a prototype running around somewhere.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Well, it's going to be turbocharged. That's a good start.

I really think some form of hybrid would fix most of the problems with the torque and emissions.

[CaminoRacer]

Well, it's going to be turbocharged. That's a good start.

I really think some form of hybrid would fix most of the problems with the torque and emissions.

A LaFerrari type hybrid with a Wankel would be nuts. Yes please.

[MrH]

The big thing they were working on for rotaries was laser ignition.  They were shooting pin point lasers for spark at different areas of the combustion chamber at different times.  Basically, more complete combustion and they had much better control of the flame front.

That's a whole lot more likely than HCCI.  HCCI requires a level of controls on the fuel injection that no one has been able to pull off yet.

[12,000 RPM]

Freaking lasers man?

[MX793]

How do they keep the laser lens clean in such a dirty environment?

I think they mounted the sparkplugs on a plunger so they can stick down into the combustion chamber when they fire and then recede into the chamber wall to clear the apex seals.

[Raza]

Rotaries with frickin' laser beams!?

[CaminoRacer]

How do they keep the laser lens clean in such a dirty environment?

I think they mounted the sparkplugs on a plunger so they can stick down into the combustion chamber when they fire and then recede into the chamber wall to clear the apex seals.

Pushrod sparkplugs.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Pushrod sparkplugs.

No, now the rotary is too complex.
This disappearing spark plug must have no moving parts.
What if the rot0r, itself, was able to contain three separate electric circuits that discharged each time the rot0r was in a particular position? This would be a brushless design, of course.

[12,000 RPM]

That would solve the apex seal problem..... kind of brilliant

[MX793]

Rotaries with frickin' laser beams!?

Because the rotary wasn't cool enough already.  That's even cooler than fitting Lasers with rotary engines.

[MrH]

Yeah. The stuff I was reading a year or two was straight up science fiction.

But they could control location of ignition, it was crazy. Like they could pin point in space how deep into the mixture they wanted it to start.

[Payman]

http://jalopnik.com/holy-crap-mazdas-working-on-a-new-turbo-rotary-engine-1768924550

[12,000 RPM]

Mazda fighting the good fight. Bring back the RX-3 sedan for me pls.

[Cookie Monster]

Mazda fighting the good fight. Bring back the RX-3 sedan for me pls.

I want rotaries in everything.

[Byteme]

I want rotaries in everything.

Everything?   

OK

http://www.burlexe.com/how-to-twirl-nipple-tassels/

[Payman]

Dead? 

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/mazda-kills-rx-9-and-relegates-rotary-power-to-hybrids/

[r0tor]

The CEO is great for shareholders (short to mid term), terrible for enthusiasts.

[12,000 RPM]

Enthusiasts are terrible for business.

IMO, both sides need to stop pussyfooting. Sports cars could be a lot cheaper and cleaner if "enthusiasts" didn't want them to be comfortable and luxurious too. At least in the US. They have the right idea in the UK with shit like Caterams and X-bows. A sports car shouldn't be comfortable or a year round ride IMO. That compromise makes them pointless.

In the context of the rotary engine, making it lug ~2000lb around instead of 3000+ would probably make hitting emissions targets a lot easier to hit. That's the real issue. The fact that they tried to make the last RX a family car is what killed it.

[93JC]

Sports cars are so impractical that the majority of buyers of them are pretty well off, and they don't want to sacrifice luxury for enthusiast cachet. Look at a modern Porsche vs. an old 911, for example. The new ones are much, much cushier. It's a catch-22: you can't build something sporty without making it luxurious, and you can't command high prices for a car like that unless you're a so-called 'premium' brand.

[12,000 RPM]

I think there is a market for sports cars free of creature comforts. People still buy motorcycles

[r0tor]

Enthusiasts are terrible for business.

I think Toyota initially agreed with you and then disagreed after a few years when people slowed theit buying of their boring ass product line.

At some point, any new car purchase is an emotional decision as it pretty much never makes financial sense.  The enthusiast side of the business bring emotion.

[12,000 RPM]

I think Toyota initially agreed with you and then disagreed after a few years when people slowed theit buying of their boring ass product line.

At some point, any new car purchase is an emotional decision as it pretty much never makes financial sense.  The enthusiast side of the business bring emotion.

Most buyers don't have an enthusiast side. You look at the top 10 selling vehicles (F-150, Silverado, RAM, Corolla, Camry, RAV-4, Accord, Rogue, CR-V, Civic), only like 2-3 have enthusiast versions (Accord Sport, Civic Si), and they all get outsold by cars with no enthusiast versions. Most Accords/Civics sold are plain Jane LX/EX/Hybrids. For like 99.999999% of the market enthusiasm is a non-factor.