PDF available from their website

http://www.mazda.com/contentassets/c...2015_no034.pdf

 

yawn....

cant wait!

 

I believe it when I see it, as in "they are really selling it to the mass, not paper launch"

 

Why would Mazda release such a document if they were not going further with this device? Is there any use in releasing a document that basically says "here's how this device works and why it's cool. Too bad you can't buy it"?.

If Mazda is going to use the RE range extender in a production vehicle, it means that the "inherent rotary problems" are not so unsolvable, otherwise it would not pass emissions and/or would not be fuel efficient enough.

 

because for stock prices? because Mazda wants their investors to know "they are doing something"? because they wanna see if anybody wanna invest into this "might have potential" technology ?


companies make zillions announcements everyday, it does not mean it will be put into production, Audi said they were still doing Rotary R&D, but do you actually believe them ?

 

[QUOTE=fmzambon;4692785]Why would Mazda release such a document if they were not going further with this device? Is there any use in releasing a document that basically says "here's how this device works and why it's cool. Too bad you can't buy it"?./QUOTE]


Well, they did it with the 16X.

 

Well, the last time Audi mentioned a rotary engine was in 2011 (if I'm not mistaken), then it simply disappeared. That is slightly different than showing a complete, working prototype, showing the internals of such an engine, having journalists test drive it and then release a technical paper describing the design aspects of such a device.
If you want to stop working on a project, you have to stop talking about it sooner or later. And it seems that Mazda doesn't want to stop talking rotary, so...
And I doubt that Mazda's share price can be significantly influenced by the rotary.

Granted, it's not a proof that this rotary range extender will end up in production. But it's more than Audi did IMHO.

The 16X was shown in 2007, before the crisis became real. My personal opinion is that, had there not been the global financial crisis, we would have had a production rotary based off the 16X no later than 2012. But that's just an opinion.
After all the Rx-01 was shown in 1995, but it took another 8 years for its side exhaust rotary to hit the roads.

 

I seem to recall that a rotary can be clean and efficient and tuned for specific RPM range. 1,000 to 9,000 is not a specific range. However, if you were to pick a narrow range, ideal for the generator, you can get a clean powerful engine, with no vibration, in a very small package.

Or, do I remember wrong?

 

Figure 12 in the pdf seems to indicate that the operating range is from 1500 to 4500rpm more or less. That's far less than 1000 to 9000rpm, but I wouldn't call that range narrow either, not to the point that one can "cheat" and optimize everything for one fixed speed.

 

Oh Jeez, the GFC had NOTHING to do with the 16X not making it to market..

The reasons were technical, like getting DI to work...
Umm, like getting fuel consumption to an acceptable level.
The next main reason was it was not viable, IE: not enough units will be sold to justify the investment.
The current MMC Japan CEO has said this on more than one occasion.
BTW: The new ND (MX-5) platform is not engineered to take any more than 180HP (meaning to accept higher rated engine (rotary or not) would mean a huge re:tool investment, so yeah the Rotary is well and truly dead..as we know it for a long time to come.

A range extender battery charger will be the only Rotary Engine (term used very loosely) IF it gets the green light and I seriously doubt it for export.

BTW: The platform for this thing (old Demio) is no longer IN production.