Dec 1, 2015 7:00 AM

Gallery: Mazda's Confusing Plan to Resurrect the Famously Dirty Rotary Engine

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When Mazda showed off the stunning RX-Vision concept car, it vowed to power it with a rotary engine.
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The “Wankel,” or “rotary,” engine substitutes the reciprocating pistons of a traditional internal combustion engine with triangular rotors that revolve in ellipses, converting combustion pressure into a rotating motion.

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Because they can run at very high revolutions, Wankel rotaries generate more horsepower per liter than traditional piston engines.
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Developing the rotary engine made Mazda what it is today.

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But the technology, which uses Dorito-shaped rotors, is archaic, inefficient, and dirty.
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despite considerable investment, a 1.6-liter direct-injected 16-X rotary engine, shown in the 2007 Taiki concept, never made it into production. It couldn’t meet emissions expectations.

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There may be another way to use the rotary engine: run it on hydrogen.
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The RX-8 Hydrogen RE, revealed at the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show, ran a dual-fuel rotary engine.

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It could be powered by either petrol or hydrogen, switching between them at the push of a button.
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The Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid used the hydrogen rotary as a generator, powering an electric motor that then turned the wheels.

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A battery-powered electric car, with a hydrogen-powered rotary to extend range, would be a DNA-loyal powerplant with a place in the zero emission, alternative energy future.

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