rotary thoughts

"Joe_Limon" (Joe_Limon)
03/06/2014 at 10:43 • Filed to: None

What do you think it would take before Mazda would not only bring back the rotary, but offer it in the miata as well?

I assume they are still playing with rotaries in their r&d division. Assuming they can cut costs on their dual stage direct injection setup with laser plugs. So they can bring it to market, I would speculate they would need to move over 30,000 units of rx a year before expanding it to other product lines. This thought makes me sad.

DISCUSSION (12)

Brian Silvestro > Joe_Limon
03/06/2014 at 10:47

Though I do agree that they're probably messing with them in their R&D department thanks to their success, I don't think it's coming back anytime soon.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Joe_Limon
03/06/2014 at 10:47

Sooo....

Three rotor turbo Miata now? I think that is a wonderful idea.

Casper > Joe_Limon
03/06/2014 at 10:54

The government backing off the crazy EPA regulations.

Storz > Joe_Limon
03/06/2014 at 10:58

I would like the opposite of that, bring back the RX8 with a turbo I4

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Joe_Limon
03/06/2014 at 11:04

Well, Mazda apparently still produce rotary for Mazda 2's Range Extender Hybrid.

For Sweden > Joe_Limon
03/06/2014 at 11:09

A rotary that doesn't drink gas and eat apex seals like a black hole.

jariten1781 > Joe_Limon
03/06/2014 at 11:10

An investor with enough cash to buy controlling shares of the company, the moxy to convince the other shareholders to go private and give him control, then make a unilateral decree that they are going to do it. They would go out of business shortly afterwards.

Joe_Limon > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
03/06/2014 at 11:13

I did not know that, cool beans

Joe_Limon > For Sweden
03/06/2014 at 11:15

Sooooo diesel rotaty? Built of high strength steel alloys.

MazdaMonkey > Joe_Limon
03/06/2014 at 11:25

It's a long shot, but always possible. The RX-8 was largely developed by MC engineers after-hours on their own time. Mazda doesn't have a ton of R&D budget compared to most automakers and they currently spend it (smartly) on the cars that really make them money - the Mazda 2/3/6 and SUVs. Staying viable is more important than bringing back the rotary, sadly.

If Mazda is sitting flush with cash one day it's possible the rotary may make a come back. But the last RX-8 didn't make the company any money, so its hard to convince anyone with power at MC that an RX-9 will.

I don't think you will ever see a factory production Miata with a rotary in it. Just two different types of cars.

RotaryLover > Joe_Limon
03/06/2014 at 11:38

I think they should go into limited supercar territory. It's great to have accessible rotaries and all, but that's what killed the RX IMO. Think about it, not everyone knows how to work on the damn cars or how to maintain it properly = bunch of poorly maintained rx8 on sale right now. By having less people having access to it, you have less horror stories to hear and less depreciation for making a rare car. Now why I said supercar territory? Better expensive materials! Possibly a much more reliable car both on the bodywork (rust) and the engine and Mazda having the balls to finally say, you are buying an experimental sports car that drinks gas and oil, not an everyday corolla type of car. We will tell you to use a higher weight oil to preserve the engine and not 5-0w20 because 5-0w20 are reserved for econoboxes for the best mileage, something that you will probably never get because you bought a SPORTS car!

samssun > Joe_Limon
03/07/2014 at 07:03

Rotaries have crappy compression ratios, but are very smooth at high speed. Diesels need much higher CRs than gas, and burn slowly. Bad formula.