Motoring

Rotary officially returns as range extender for Mazda MX-30

The official announcement made earlier this week, Mazda has taken the covers off of its first rotary-powered model in almost eleven years at the Brussels Motor Show, the MX-30 R-EV.

Rotary with a difference

A setup completely different from those used in the RX-7 and RX-8, the small capacity 830 cc single-rotor doesn’t directly drive the front wheels, but, similar to Nissan’s e-Power, acts as a type of generator for the reduced capacity 17.8-kWh battery pack.

RX-8 influence involves the suicide opening rear doors.

Positioned next to the pack itself, the inclusion of the rotary also sees the MX-30 gaining a fuel tank of 50-litres to create what Mazda calls, a unique plug-in hybrid as the unit produces 55 kW on its own while allowing for a range of 85 km.

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Rear facia has not been altered.

ALSO READ: Mazda confirms rotary’s return but with a difference

Range(d)-up

In addition to addressing a point of criticism attributed to the MX-30 not being the success Mazda had expected, the range extender has boosted the overall range from the EV’s 200 km to a more substantial 600 km.

Subtle inlays have taken place inside the MX-30’s interior, but only on the rotary.

Still limited to 140 km/h and now able to get from 0-100 km/h in 9.1 seconds instead of 9.7 seconds, charging the MX-30 R-EV’s smaller battery takes one hour 40 minutes when using an 11 kW wallbox, or 25 minutes plugged into a DC fast charger.

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Rotary now works as a generator in conjunction with the electric motor.

Edition R

While aesthetically unchanged from the EV MX-30, sans the new rotary logos on the front wings and the e-SkyActiv R badge on the bootlid, a new limited run Edition R model has been introduced with a two-tone Jet Black and Maroon Rouge exterior as a way of paying homage to the R360 that debuted the Mazda name in 1960.

Single rotor the first in any Mazda since 2012.

Capped at 400 units, the R’s unique interior accommodations include a single white stitch line of 2.6 mm, the same size as the rotary’s apex seal grooves, the rotary badged embroidered into the front headrests, a rotary symbol on the floor mats and a monogram of the apex seals on the key fob.

A no-no for now

Priced from £31 250 (R642 011) in the United Kingdom for the entry-level Executive-Line, the same as the all-electric Prime-Line that kicks the range off, the MX-30 R-EV, at present, has not been earmarked by Mazda for South Africa anytime soon.

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Published by
By Charl Bosch
Read more on these topics: Mazda