After years of false hope, Mazda is finally building a mass production model with a rotary engine. That’s something that hasn’t occurred in over a decade as the RX-8 was discontinued in June of 2012.
Unfortunately, Mazda didn’t treat us to a new RX-9 as the rotary engine will instead be used in the MX-30 e-SKYACTIV R-EV. It’s a plug-in hybrid crossover, which features a 17.8 kWh battery pack that powers a 168 hp (125 kW / 170 PS) electric motor. This gives the model a range of 53 miles (85 km) in the United Kingdom, which the company says is “sufficient for most daily driving needs.”
More: Rotary-Boosted Mazda MX-30 E-Skyactiv R-EV Gains 21 HP, Solves MX Range Stress
If you need to travel farther, the 0.8-liter (830cc) rotary engine activates and acts as a generator. Thanks to this setup, the crossover can travel over 373 miles (600 km) before needing to be recharged or refueled. That’s a vast improvement over the fully electric MX-30, which only has a dismal WLTP combined range of 124 miles (200 km).
As for the engine itself, Mazda said it has been “adapted to meet the needs of our times” and is over 33 lbs (15 kg) lighter than the twin-rotor Renesis unit used in the RX-8. It’s also more advanced as it features direct injection and an exhaust gas recirculation system.
Mazda has built nearly two million rotary-powered vehicles over the years and the MX-30 will add to that number when it arrives in Europe later this year.
