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Mazda RX-Vision: How Dragon Ball made it possible

Leow Ju Len
28/10/2015

mazda rx vision singapore

The RX-Vision concept car is a gutsy move from Mazda. But whether it — and its SkyActiv-R rotary engine –– will ever see the light of day is up to you

FROM THE TOKYO MOTOR SHOW 2015 — A spontaneous cheer went up in the room full of motoring writers. Kiyoshi Fujiwara, the head of Mazda’s R&D department, had just described what he calls the “heart” of the Sportscar Concept that Mazda is unveiling at the Tokyo Motor Show.

“Yes,” he said. “It’s a rotary engine!” Cue catcalls, whistles and rapturous applause all ’round.

The RX-Vision threatens to steal the show at Tokyo this year, and not just because of its sleek, muscular looks. What lies under its bonnet is gaining huge attention too, because it remains unique in the motoring world.

Nearly all cars are powered by piston engines, but Mazda has stubbornly pursued Wankel (or rotary) technology for more than five decades now.

Rotary engines have few moving parts, spin smoothly and make plenty of power for their weight and size — indeed, the compact size of the RX-Vision’s engine is what enables it to have such an impossibly low-slung bonnet.

But rotaries also have a reputation for fragility and heavy fuel consumption, which is why most car manufacturers seemed to have considered them a dead-end technology. Not Mazda, which has heavy emotional ties to the engine.

“For Mazda engineers, the rotary engine is a symbol of our never-stop-challenging spirit,” says Fujiwara. “It’s an essential part of the DNA of our brand.”

“I feel the same way,” says Ikuo Maeda, Mazda’s chief designer and the man responsible for the RX-Vision’s sleek lines. The coupe’s looks, he says, reflect that rotary DNA.

“It has the look of a machine that is all business, a silhouette that speaks of a pure performance by a rotary engine. That is where I focussed my effort,” says Maeda.

Maeda says it was a long-held wish for him to design a car like the RX-Vision. “As a designer, it has always been my dream to design a beautiful and sexy, front-engine and rear-drive sportscar,” he says.

Front-engine/rear-drive happens to be Maeda’s favourite format. The designer is a bit of keen driver, too. Racing is a hobby of his. “Sometimes I can beat the pros,” he smiles.

There is a deeper significance to Maeda’s desire to create the RX-Vision, too. His father, Matasaburo, was head of Mazda design in the 1970s, and also designed a rotary-engined coupe, the very first RX-7.

former 0031s

LEARNING FROM CRISIS
That said, rotary engines have given Mazda its fair share of headaches. Early quality shortcomings, admits Fujiwara, upset customers and created problems for dealers.

“At times, our passion to pursue rotary power even led to crises that threatened the very existence of the company,” he says. Yet, he says Mazda took important lessons from the setbacks.

“These failures taught us to reflect on and learn from our mistakes, and how to prevent them from reoccurring. Such lessons became an asset,” says Fujiwara.

Besides, without rotary engines Mazda might not even be around today as a carmaker. In the early 1960s, Japan’s auto industry went through a phase of restructuring. Mazda had only rolled out its first car in 1960, Fujiwara points out, and faced pressure to exit the business.

Licensing the Wankel engine and developing it was a way to demonstrate the company’s technical promise and survive the industry restructuring, he says.

The RX-Vision’s debut actually marks 50 years since Mazda first put a rotary-powered car on the road, when it brought prototype versions of the Cosmo Sport (below) to the Tokyo Motor Show for people to drive.

mazda cosmo sport singapore

And yet, the Hiroshima-based company currently doesn’t have a single rotary model for sale, which seems inexplicable for a carmaker that explicitly considers the engine a part of its DNA.

But the RX-Vision could change all that. Its new engine, dubbed SkyActiv-R, has been at least eight years in the making.

50 engineers have been refining an earlier rotary design called 16X, and have scored breakthroughs in the engine’s internal shape (to reduce wear) and its ignition system.

“Do you know Dragon Ball? This ignition system shoots out some sort of fireball into the rotary chamber,” says Fujiwara. He uses his hands to throw out an imaginary fireball and makes a sort of “Foom!” noise with his mouth, like a character in the anime he’s referencing. “This is completely new,” he grins.

dragon ball

Fujiwara says that, on the test bench at least, the SkyActiv-R is at least as good as today’s piston engines. But the real world is a different matter, so his plan is to put running prototypes on the road, and take up to two years to validate them — about three times as long as a carmaker would normally spend to test an engine.

It will take that long because Mazda has largely gone it alone with rotary tech. There are no suppliers working on it, nor do technical universities focus on the design. And within Mazda, there’s never enough money for the programme, jokes Fujiwara.

A TAILWIND NEEDED
But the desire to build the RX-Vision is certainly there. “This model is a dream, but we are not going to let it stay a dream forever,” says Maeda, who feels it is the best design he’s ever done.

To produce such a car would be a bold move from a relatively small player in the industry. Mazda’s global market share today hovers around 2 percent, which makes it smaller than BMW.

But the RX-Vision’s bold looks are meant to reflect an equally brave spirit at Mazda. “We dare to question what is common sense across the industry,” says Fujiwara.

mazda rx vision singapore

Still, whether the two-seater sportscar enters production or not is still very much up in the air. “My personal thought is that for Mazda’s brand, this kind of vehicle is absolutely essential, so it’s my desire that we can make this kind of car in the future,” says Maeda. “I hope you (in the press) can give me a strong tailwind, so that I can convince the senior management.”

Judging from the cheers from the press guys, Maeda has nothing to worry about there.

Can't get enough of Mazda's RX-Vision? Neither can we! Just check out this 360-degree view on the turntable. The way light dances over its surfaces is sick! #tms2015 Mazda

Posted by CarBuyer Singapore on Wednesday, 28 October 2015

MORE FROM THE TOKYO MOTOR SHOW 2015
Mitsubishi’s big bet is a risky one
How Suzuki is playing it cute
Four trends that spell the end of Japanese cars
How Toyota wants to save the world

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mazda mx-5 rotary rx tms2015

About the Author

Leow Ju Len

CarBuyer Singapore's original originator, Ju-Len in person is exactly how he is on the written word and behind the wheel. Meaning that he darts all over the place and just when you thought he's lost the plot, you realise that it's just you not keeping up with his incredible rate of speed and thought.

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