Pop the hood on a classic Mazda RX-7 or RX-8 and the engine bay looks oddly empty. That is the charm of the rotary engine: a compact lump of metal that trades pistons and valves for a spinning ...

In theory, Wankel-style rotary internal combustion engines have many advantages: they ditch the cumbersome crankcase and piston design, replacing it with a simple, single-chamber design and a thick, ...

The rotary was the most radical rethink of the combustion engine in over a hundred years — and it paid the price for being different. Mazda introduced the innovative Wankel rotary engine in the 1967 ...

Different sports cars, different powertrains, same enthusiastic spirit—and we can't wait. At Mazda, the desire for a Mazda RX-7 successor is there. The Iconic SP concept is the blueprint, too, and a ...

Chris Bruce has worked in the automotive industry since 2011 and has written thousands of stories about cars, motorsports, and motorcycles in that time. He has written for Autoblog, Autoviva, CarFax, ...

The rotary engine has been a Mazda staple since 1967. It powered one of the most famous and eccentric Japanese sports car line-ups, the RX-series, until 2012 when Mazda discontinued pure ...

Mazda says the Iconic SP concept was designed to be turned into a production car. The two-door sports car is powered by an extended-range powertrain. A two-rotor Wankel gas engine acts as a generator ...

Mazda's Wankel rotary powerplant boasts a proud and storied endurance racing career that began and ended in truly spectacular fashion. The rotary first took to a European circuit in anger in 1968, ...

In the early '90s, Mazda's rotary-powered RX-7 was the quintessential Japanese two-seat sports car. But then the Miata ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Peter Lyon is based in Tokyo and writes about the car industry. At the Japan Mobility Show two years ago, Mazda unveiled a ...

The Mazda RX-8 has always had a cult following, but the rotary engine can scare off buyers who want something simpler to live with. That’s exactly why swaps like this exist. A V6-swapped RX-8 ...

The Iconic SP is almost certain to house the new rotary powertrain announced by CEO Moro. It’s official. The rotary is coming back. Earlier this month at the Tokyo Auto Salon, Japan’s biggest car ...