Mazda files patents for serious supercar with Wankel engine (with three discs!)
Mazda’s Wankel engine is coming back, that’s for sure. The brand is working on a compact version of the unique combustion engine as a range extender (or simply aggregate) for the electric MX-30. Cool technology, but that’s not quite what enthusiasts are waiting for. For those fans, we have good news, perhaps. Mazda recently filed a patent for a new Mazda with a Wankel engine that drives the rear wheels.
On the patent drawings you can clearly see a Wankel engine with no fewer than three discs. In simple terms, you can think of the discs as the pistons of the Wankel engine. The Mazda RX-7 and RX-8 had two discs. The Eunos Cosmo, which was never delivered here, was the only production car with such an engine. Some racers had three discs, and the Le Mans-winning 787B even had four. Throw a nice exhaust under such a three-disc rocker and you have a sound that converts even GreenPeace volunteers to car enthusiasts.
A four-wheel drive supercar?
The drawings reveal more interesting things. For example, the engine is in the front, but the transmission is between the rear wheels. The Nissan GT-R, for example, has the same construction. Mazda also talks about a hybrid powertrain in the documents. In the drawings there are electric motors in both front wheels and behind the Wankel engine there is another one. The new Mazda with a Wankel engine would therefore have four-wheel drive. This is starting to sound a lot like a supercar.
When will the new Mazda with Wankel engine come?
The hybrid element may make the whole thing less pure, but considering the dramatic fuel economy of the engines of the past (and the corresponding BPM it would deliver) it might not be a bad idea. In addition, a Wankel engine with three discs plus three electric motors should provide a serious amount of power. Remember that a patent drawing always means that a production model is on the way. A lot of hope is always allowed.
