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SEMA 2009: World's only known four-rotor Mazda RX-8

Frank Filipponio — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:40:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Motorsports, SEMA Show, Coupe, Performance, Mazda

BMI Racing Mazda RX-8 four-rotor - Click above for high-res image gallery

We came across this RX-8 at SEMA and it immediately rang a bell. Time Attack, four-rotor, Mazda RX-8? It's the BMI Racing car we saw on Streetfire a while back. It's said to be the only four-rotor RX-8 in the world and it looks and sounds incredible. Don't believe us? You can see a couple of videos after the jump and judge for yourself.

Gallery: SEMA 2009: 4-Rotor Mazda RX-8

Continue reading SEMA 2009: World's only known four-rotor Mazda RX-8

SEMA 2009: World's only known four-rotor Mazda RX-8 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SEMA 2009: Turbo rotary Mazda MX-5 begs to be flogged

Damon Lavrinc — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:20:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA Show, Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Mazda

Turbo Rotary Mazda MX-5 - Click above for high-res image gallery

If you get the impression things are all high gloss and dubs in Vegas, you wouldn't be far off. But walk around the SEMA compound long enough and you come across something cool that that speaks to the gearhead, track rat in each of us.

Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of details about this red NA Mazda MX-5, but we do know it's been worked over by Mike Burlas Designs from Rialto, California, and it has a turbocharged 13B rotary underhood. Further, it has been kitted out with an adjustable suspension, upgraded brakes and what appears to be a fiberglass (or Kevlar) blistered fender kit.

But the crowning jewel is the carbon fiber fastback roof which the company is selling in fiberglass form for $1,800. It's not quite as cool as the MX-5 coupe concept from way-back-when, but it's nice to see the Miata getting some S2000-style fixed roof love in Sin City.

Gallery: SEMA 2009: Turbo Rotary Mazda MX5/Miata

SEMA 2009: Turbo rotary Mazda MX-5 begs to be flogged originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Mazda's next-generation rotary needs more work

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Mazda

2009 Mazda RX-8 - Click above for high-res image gallery

Though the rotary engine certainly has its fair share of detractors, many who find themselves behind the wheel of a Wankel-powered machine from Mazda fall in love with the engine's zippy and rev-happy characteristics... including this particular blogger, who purchased a new RX-8 back in 2004. Regardless, nobody can deny that the rotary has always been a thirsty little bugger, especially when compared to powerplants with similarly rated displacements.

We've been hearing for the last few years - and seemingly every other time a new rendition of the Wankel engine came to market - that the next version of Mazda's rotary would address complaints about its high fuel consumption and emissions. Perhaps the early projections about the so-called 16X engine were a wee bit premature. According to Seita Kanai, head of R&D at Mazda:

The 16X demonstrated the possibility, but that performance is not good enough. We are doing R&D which will incorporate more new technology... The 16X is more a profile of a rotary still in our concept stage. It needs more evolution.

That really doesn't sound all that confidence inspiring to us. At this point, only time will tell if the 16X will actually be ready for prime time when the long-rumored next-gen rotary-powered car from Mazda hits the scene in 2012 or so.

Gallery: 2009 Mazda RX-8 R3

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req'd]

REPORT: Mazda's next-generation rotary needs more work originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tokyo 2009: Mazda RX-500 still awesome nearly 40 years later

Drew Phillips — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:20:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Japan, Tokyo Motor Show, Mazda

1970 Mazda RX-500 Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

One of the coolest concept cars here at the Tokyo Motor Show isn't even new. In fact, it's almost forty years old. Originally displayed at the Tokyo show in 1970, this Mazda RX-500 Concept features styling similar to the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO Breadvan, gullwing doors that swing forward, and a 491cc rotary engine just behind the seats. Weighing in at just 1873 pounds, the 247-horsepower concept was said to have reached nearly 150 mph on Mazda's test track.

The car was recently restored in partnership with the Hiroshima City Transportation Museum where it has apparently been on display for the last year. Lucky for us, they decided to bring it to the show for us to enjoy as well. Check out this unique bit of retro-conceptual genius in our high-res gallery below.

Gallery: Tokyo 2009: 1970 Mazda RX-500 Concept

Tokyo 2009: Mazda RX-500 still awesome nearly 40 years later originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Norton NRV588 rotary-powered motorcycle in action

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:20:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Motorcycle

Norton NRV588 rotary-powered motorcycle - Click above to watch the video

Undoubtedly, the company that's most often associated with rotary engine technology is Mazda. The Japanese automaker has been building Wankel powerplants for decades, with the current RX-8 standing alone as the only new automobile powered by the innovative engine architecture. In reality, though, many firms have experimented with the rotary engine, including Suzuki, which offered a rotary-powered motorcycle in the Seventies. Up until the mid-Nineties, European racetracks were filled with the buzzing sounds of Wankel-engined Norton motorcycles terrorizing their larger four-stoke twin-cylinder competitors and winning races such as the Isle of Man TT in 1992.

That unmistakable buzzsaw sound is set to make a comeback at this year's running at the Isle of Man as the latest Norton revival takes to the track. Click past the break for a video of the rotary-powered NRV588 as it makes a few laps at Donington Park and the dyno. Pay special attention to the exposed exhaust pipes, which reportedly get so hot they need to be made from Inconel.

[Source: Visordown via Asphalt and Rubber]

Continue reading VIDEO: Norton NRV588 rotary-powered motorcycle in action

VIDEO: Norton NRV588 rotary-powered motorcycle in action originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don't jump! Rotary-engine 'Vette prototype saved from rooftop

Chris Shunk — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:03:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Etc., Chevrolet, GM, UK

Back in the 70s, GM was looking to take its much beloved Corvette to the next level. The General charged John DeLorean with investigating the possibility of putting a mid-engine rotary under hood, and the 1973 GM XP897 was the culmination of his efforts. The steel-bodied Vette was built atop a Porsche 914 chassis, and GM poured millions into R&D. The problem was that the Rotary engine was just as thirsty as America's much loved V8, and it was an emissions failure. GM deemed the XP897 a lost cause, and the Pantera look-alike was relegated to an eternal parking spot on the 10th story roof-top of the Vauxhall design building.

Luckily for Corvette lovers everywhere, Englishman and Corvette historian Tom Falconer went out of his way to save the car he loved. Falconer received a phone call from former one-time Jaguar design chief Geoff Lawson about a steel-bodied Vette that was about to meet its maker. To save the XP897, Falconer flew to Detroit to beg GM execs to let him keep the Vette for his own. Luckily for history, Falconer succeeded, and to this day the mid-engine Rotary Vette sits in his Snodland, Kent museum. Since Falconer received the vehicle without its engine, it currently draws power from a Mazda 13B two rotor engine mated to a front-drive auto from Cadillac. With the recent unveiling of the 2009 Corvette ZR1, we see just how far the Vette has come since 1973. but the mid-engine debate still rages on. Can and will GM one day succeed where it failed 35 years ago? As long as the General keeps pouring money into the Corvette, we're all for taking chances.

[Source: Telegraph via Winding Road]

Don't jump! Rotary-engine 'Vette prototype saved from rooftop originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Celebrate 40 years of rotary power with Mazda

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 30 May 2007 13:25:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Japan, Mazda

Click image for a gallery of the Mazda Cosmo Sport

The good old internal combustion engine has been in service since the 17th century when Sir Samuel Morland rather impractically used gunpowder to drive water pumps. It was not until 1876 when Nikolaus Otto invented the modern four stroke engine that the internal combustion engine became practical for automobiles, however. Those same four cycles, intake, compression, combustion and exhaust are used in the Wankel rotary engine, although instead of the strokes of a piston the rotary creates it's cycles as a roughly triangular shaped rotor spins inside its housing. Doesn't make sense? Click here.

2007 marks Mazda's 40th in using the rotary engine. Our favorite application of it would have to be the Cosmo Sport, of course. Many of you will choose the RX-7 as a personal favorite. It's also alive in the current RX-8, which even sports a hydrogen-powered version for the alternative fuel crowd. And we'd be remiss if we forgot to mention the jaw-dropping four-rotor 787B racer that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Those of us who own, or have owned, a rotary engined vehicle and loved it can take this moment to say "thanks" to Felix Wankel and to Mazda for its commitment to the rotary. Forty years and going strong!

We've assembled four galleries of famous Mazda rotaries, including the Cosmo Sport gallery below, as well as galleries of the RX-7, RX-8 and 787B Le Mans racer.

[Source: Mazda]

Gallery: Mazda Cosmo Sport

Continue reading Celebrate 40 years of rotary power with Mazda

Celebrate 40 years of rotary power with Mazda originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 May 2007 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Moller Skycar makes it on eBay

Frank Filipponio — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 14:03:00 EST

Filed under: Auctions, Etc.

When we first reported on the Moller M400 Skycar auction a couple of weeks ago, we speculated that you would need a pilot's license in addition to the $4 million reserve price. Well, the flying car has finally reached the pages of eBay and we have more of the specifics for you. As many of us suspected, the Skycar "is suitable for test and evaluation only and is not certified for use by the Federal Aviation Authority nor as a licensed road vehicle." So you are basically bidding to finance future work and the right to own a very large remote control plane. But the Skycar is a real vehicle. Road and flight tests have been going on since September 2001, and this test vehicle has flown over a dozen times at the Moller International facilities in Davis, California.

Powered by eight air-cooled Rotapower rotary engines, this prototype M400 Skycar is capable of generating approximately 2,000 pounds of vertical thrust. It currently runs on methanol, but can also be operated on regular unleaded pump gas. And remember when we said this was essentially an RC plane? The "pilot" uses a remote control to "fly" the vehicle, which uses a sophisticated computer and fly-by-wire system to control altitude and orientation. Commands are fed through a 300-ft umbilical cable attached to the aircraft. Up until now, it has only been flown at 40 ft however.

So if you are still interested, here's a summary of the bid process. It's a "Private Auction" hosted by eBay. You need to be pre-approved prior to posting a bid. And here's a big caveat: sale of the Skycar prototype is subject to approval under ITAR. That is the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Moller believes the Skycar to be a Category VIII aircraft, which makes it subject to military restrictions as well. Therefore, if you are the winning bidder, you need to prove you are who you say you are, and after a background check, Moller International will obtain the required permits and legal authorization to transfer ownership of the Skycar over to you. Still with us? Well, there is also a warning that customs, shipping and import fees could run you another 25 grand. But Moller will reimburse you with valid receipts. Sounds like the perfect holiday treat for the person who has everything. Bidding is currently at $2,000,001 with about six days left to go.

[Source: Moller]

Moller Skycar makes it on eBay originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Oct 2006 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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