Will Mazda Have The Perfect Hybrid Engine?

Mazda is setting its self off to join the so far relatively exclusive club of auto makers who are introducing hybrid technology into their forthcoming vehicles. The company says that its two main priorities for upcoming cars and SUV's will be safety and lowering greenhouse gas emissions by introducing a range of new technologies with a green edge, including stop/start and hybrid petrol/electric vehicles.

The company has already put its toe into the hybrid market with its RX-8 Hydrogen RE, hydrogen-fuelled range, which is up until now only available in its native Japan. The company has just launched its new Mazda 2 in the UK which has the lowest carbon emissions record for its vehicle class, but is still a standard diesel engine.

In the US market the company has launched the Mazda Tribute Hybrid, although this is not a true newcomer as it is based on its Ford partner company's Escape model, rather than being an actual Mazda model.

Although it does give a taste of what is to come in the much anticipated Wankel rotary engine hybrid versions, delivering a very respectable 36mpg around town.

The engineers at the company's Asian and European research centers are said to be well advanced in the development of Wankel based liquid hydrogen fuel engines as well as petrol/electric versions.

Once heralded as the future of all engines, the Wankel was then dismissed as a 'fad' but many auto enthusiasts swear by the rotary engine, which has managed to survive well despite its critics.

But it could well be that the next few years will see the rotary engine come into its own as engineers agree that its basic design, dating back to the 1950s, is well suited to the hybrid concept and is considered much easier to adapt than traditional up and down piston petrol engines.

It is quite possible that Mazda may be on to a real winner if it can release new quality rotary engines that should be far more efficient than the 'heavy on the gas' traditional versions.