There’s good news for fans of the rotary engine (RE) as the Mazda rotary engine development team (aka the ‘RE Development Group’) has been reborn, as announced by the company. With a team of 36 engineers, Mazda is looking to accelerate its research and development of the rotary engine “that are adapted to the new era in its efforts to continue to deliver the joy of cars through solutions that are appropriate for the times toward the realization of carbon-neutral society”.
Effective February 1, 2024, the ‘RE Development Group’ has been reinstated in the Powertrain Technology Development Department of the Powertrain Development Division. According to Mazda, the new RE Development Group will continue to evolve ‘RE used as generators’, and will conduct research and development in areas such as regulatory compliance in major markets as well as the application of carbon-neutral fuels.
Mazda Chief Technology Officer, Ichiro Hirose said, “In Mazda’s history, the rotary engine is a special symbol of our ‘challenger spirit.’ We are deeply grateful to all those who have supported RE to date, and are pleased to announce the rebirth of the organization that develops RE, the engine that has been loved by customers around the world.”
“For the last six years, RE engineers have been part of the engine development organization where they engaged in the development of state-of-the-art internal combustion engine functions as well as the ultimate improvement in efficiency. Those engineers have broadened their perspective beyond the boundaries of engine systems, and have trained themselves to master the ‘Model-Based Development,’ which is one of Mazda’s engineering strengths.”
“This time, 36 engineers will gather in one group to make a breakthrough in the research and development of RE. In the age of electrification and in a carbon-neutral society, we promise to keep delivering attractive cars that excite customers with our ‘challenger spirit.'”
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In June 2023, the company resumed mass production of vehicles with rotary engines for the first time in approximately 11 years since the end of production of the Mazda RX-8 in 2012. Currently, the Mazda MX-30 e-SKYACTIV R-EV, the 12th model that mounts a rotary engine, has been introduced in Japan and Europe.
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