Motorweek - Mazda Rotary Engine 40th Anniversary

if they make an rx-9 i want it to look like the rx-7 design

what the biggest number of rotors they made?

The most rotors Mazda used on a production engine is 3, as used in the 20B-REW engine that powered the Eunos Cosmo. Mazda made a number of 4 rotor prototypes, won Le Mans in 1990 with the 4 rotor R26B and will sell you a 4 rotor if you have enough money. They also experimented with engines having higher rotor counts but none of those made production.

@tonyf686
20 lol jk i think 4

theres to much bitching below.. just wanna say great video thanks for posting, rotaries are the way of the future. fc3s infini is my personal favorite rx7.

it ain't a motor if it ain't a rotor.

It's sad to say, but I don't think the rotary is the way of the future. Piston engines have evolved to the point where it is tough to justify a rotary in a new car when you consider the fuel consumption. This doesn't mean the rotary is inferior, it just means that in the future we will continue to see primarily piston engines. Especially when you consider that we are moving towards more hybrids and clean diesels, then plug in hybrids, and finally pure electric.

hydrogen is the big thing and the 16x hydro rotary will do big things for the auto market...but yea your reply is also very true.

Hydrogen will never catch on except in very specific markets (much like current LPG vehicles) as the problem with hydrogen is the same problem as gasoline; production. Then with hydrogen you also have low energy density, storage issues and lack of infrastructure.

They dropped it for several reasons. The cost and complexity of the twin turbo system, maintenance and warranty headaches, and the need for '96 and newer vehicles sold in North America to have an ODBII EFI system. Later they sorted out the twin turbo issues in Japan but never brought it back to our side. It probably cost Mazda way too much to keep them over here and support the failures.

if you knew anything about rotaries you would probably still have one that runs.

my 87 rx gets the same mileage as my 89 accord, and its a hell of alot more fun. then again i haven't gotten it back together since i ported it.