The Wankel engine sports car and the electric crossover have more in common than you think
An RX-8? I haven’t seen that in ages
We neither. While the RX-8 was a fairly popular car in its heyday, the tiny Mazda has acquired a dubious reputation since it was withdrawn from sale in 2010. He would be difficult to keep in top shape. And drink oil with the same ease that most other cars take in gasoline. These days they cost next to nothing, but that’s because they’re going to cost you some serious money to maintain. In addition, the risk of it breaking is quite high.
What’s the problem then?
Its engine, exactly the part that makes the car so special. The RX-8 was the last Mazda to receive a rotary engine, a technology that has become somewhat synonymous with Mazda and that ten years ago was expertly killed by the increasingly strict emission regulations. Although Mazda has been talking for a while about reincarnating the rotary engine as range extender for their first all-electric car, the MX-30.
Good news!
Of course. Especially because rotary engines are small, lightweight and smooth compared to conventional combustion engines, and therefore ideally suited for this type of application. And also because the MX-30 cries out for a longer range. Mazda says you should be able to get 200 kilometers with it, but in practice that often amounts to less than 160 kilometers.
How’s that rotary engine like, uh… engine?
The MX-30 weighs nearly 400 pounds more than the RX-8, has 80 horsepower less and takes three seconds longer to reach 100 km/h from a standstill. But usually, because of that instantaneous torque from the electric motor, it feels much faster. The RX-8’s 231 horsepower isn’t there until you hit the red line, and the torque is just 211 Nm. So he’s hilarious when you drive him hard, if you can wring him out, but the rest of the time it’s damn hard work.
Leaving aside the powertrain, are these two similar?
No not really. The RX-8 is really entertaining, in an old-fashioned ‘rear-wheel drive in a coupe’ fashion. It has great balance, is agile and steers with real precision. It’s obvious that the MX-30, thirteen years younger than this particular RX-8, handles and drives better than most other affordable EVs – Mazda always goes the extra mile. However, there is something else quite obvious that ties these cars together…
Those doors, right?
Yes, and isn’t that the coolest thing you’ve ever seen? Okay, not from a practical point of view, which was less of a problem in the RX-8 than in the MX-30 because of the kind of cars they are. But to look at and operate: delicious. The levers that open them are so similar – we wouldn’t even be surprised if they had the same part number.
