Yahoo Autos Mazda three-rotor hybrid engine plans appear in patent filings
There have been rumors of Mazda reviving the rotary engine on a regular basis since the RX-8 ended production in 2012. The company itself has been pretty quiet about the rotary engine, except as a planned range extender in an upcoming plug-in hybrid version of the MX-30. However, Mazda has filed a patent application for a triple-rotor hybrid powertrain. And unlike in the MX-30, it not only appears to be the main propulsion unit, but it's also configured for a rear-wheel-drive layout.
The patent was filed with the European Patent Office, according to Japanese blogger taku2-4885. One of the detailed diagrams clearly depicts a rotary engine with three housings, similar in architecture to the triple-rotor found in the Japan-market Eunos Cosmo of the early 1990s. The rotary engine is connected to a 48-volt mild-hybrid assist system and a rear transaxle, similar to a Japanese patent for an RX-Vision-like coupe discovered back in August. There's also a description of a cooling system, something the hot-running rotary engine needs to maintain a long life.
Unlike those Japanese patent filings, these illustrations aren't nearly as detailed. They are likely a placeholder for something that Mazda might, one day, if market forces and planets are aligned, want to do. Of course, the gulf between that and a production car is incredibly wide.
