Here’s hope: Mazda patents hint at a rotary revival

Mazda’s rotary roots are deep and help drive the brand to its 1991 Le Mans win with the legendary 787B race car. Dedicated Mazda fans might be upset with the lack of a rotary engine in the current car lineup, but that could be changing. The folks over at Garage Alpha uncovered some patent drawings that show Mazda is closer to reviving the rotary than previously thought.

The last plan we heard said that the next-wave of rotary engines will be used exclusively as range extenders for electrified vehicles. However, judging by the patent drawings, the folks over at Mazda might want more out of the rotary after all. The patent drawings show myriad improvements for the rotary in the intake, exhaust systems, and a turbocharger. The patents also neglect to mention any other propulsion systems to work along with the rotary.

Like with any patent drawing, it’s hard to say that any of this will see full-scale prototyping, let alone production. But, it’s interesting to see that Mazda is still looking to put a rotary powerplant back into production with more responsibilities than just generating electricity.

These patent drawings also should reignite hopes that the Mazda RX-9 might see daylight after all. And if none of this ever comes to fruition, you can always hunt down an RX-7 or RX-8 and embrace rotary power without a warranty.

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