New Mazda Engine Tech: Previewing Next-Gen Powertrains

New Mazda Engine Tech: Carmaker Previews Next-Generation Powertrains

Mazda is preparing its next-generation powertrain technologies, including a new gas engine, hybrid, and electrified two-rotor rotary powertrain, followed by pure EV options later. Here’s a preview of the new Mazda engine tech coming soon:

Mazda’s Latest Engine Tech at a Glance

• Mazda Skyactiv-Z: The next generation of the automaker’s four-cylinder engine platform, engineered to enhance efficiency and reduce emissions.
• Two-rotor e-Skyactiv R-EV: Based on technology initially developed for the MX-30 R-EV model, it will add a second rotor to act as a generator to charge the battery pack, providing more power to the electric motors that drive the wheels.
• Performance hybrid: The Mazda-developed gas-electric powertrain will bring efficiency gains while delivering a more dynamic drive than your typical fuel-saving hybrid.

Next-Gen Mazda Gas Engine: Mazda Skyactiv-Z Coming Soon

While many other automakers have stalled on developing new gasoline engine platforms as they focus on moving toward pure EVs or hybrids, Mazda continues to go its own way – as it has always done – by bringing to market its next generation of power-, emissions-, and efficiency-optimized four-cylinder engines, dubbed Skyactiv-Z.

This next-gen Skyactiv-Z powertrain is billed as an improvement on and replacement of the carmaker’s current Skyactiv-G series (arguably its best high-production engine ever) and the Skyactiv-X (a more limited-production experiment that never lived up to its hype).

Unlike the use of homogeneous-charge compression-ignition (HCCI) technology in the Skyactiv-X, the new Skyactiv-Z line of inline-four engines will run on the lambda one combustion method. With an air-fuel equivalence ratio, or Lambda, of one, the mixture of fuel and air is precisely balanced, all fuel is burned, and efficiency is optimized while minimizing the release of harmful airborne pollutants.

Mazda says its new Skyactiv-Z engines using the lambda one combustion method will “achieve high thermal efficiency by realizing super lean burn combustion over a wide range from low to high rpm, to provide excellent environmental performance and driving performance.”

Aspects from the development of the new Skyactiv-Z can be applied to Mazda’s inline six-cylinder engines as well, the carmaker said.

Phase 2 of Mazda’s new powertrain and vehicle platform program includes the release of the Skyactiv-Z engine, multiple other powerplants, and the debut of the next-generation CX-5, with these events starting in 2025 and running through 2027.

We anticipate the all-new Mazda CX-5 (and redesigned MX-5 Miata) will arrive with the new Skyactiv-Z under the hood, with the former also gaining another powertrain option detailed below.

More Powerful, Two-Rotor e-Skyactiv R-EV Planned for Production

The unexpected arrival of the Mazda Iconic SP sports car concept reignited hopes of a next-generation Mazda rotary performance engine.

Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro recently stated that the next step in the carmaker’s plans for a rotary-powered future involves transitioning from the single-rotor EV setup pioneered in the production MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV model (that ultimately never arrived Stateside, nor far beyond Japan’s shores) to a more potent two-rotor R-EV powerplant.

“We have tested with the single rotor. The next phase will be moving to two. The rotors spin separately in different chambers with one shaft. We need to generate more electricity. Two rotors will generate more power, which is more suitable to US market characteristics.”

The result will be more power, more range, and (hopefully) wider adoption in Mazda’s many markets yearning for some semblance of a rotary engine return.

Mazda recently reinstated a specialized team focused on the development and deployment of rotary engine technology in future cars for the new era of electrification. The RE group, or Rotary Engine Development Group, is tasked with futureproofing a new electrified rotary powertrain against ever-changing emissions and fuel economy regulations worldwide. A challenging task indeed.

“We still persist in making it happen, and we are marching towards it step by step.”

With Mazda’s CEO confirming that the automaker is planning to put a new two-rotor powertrain into production, we’ll only have to wait to see when and how this takes form.

Will this new R-EV engine power a production sports car inspired by the 365-horsepower Iconic SP, or a more mainstream crossover SUV? We’re hoping the answer is both: a new RX coupe and multiple other models that make the two-rotor R-EV a sustainable powertrain for several future vehicles to come.

New Mazda Hybrid: Finally, a Hybrid With Zoom-Zoom

Moving back toward more mainstream, high-volume models like the CX-5 and away from our dream machine – the Mazda Iconic SP – a new Mazda hybrid system is also set to arrive by 2027. Unlike the Toyota hybrid system of the mainly North American Mazda CX-50 Hybrid model, this new gas-electric hybrid powertrain will be developed completely in-house at Mazda.

We anticipate this new Mazda hybrid system will be inspired by technologies learned from the automaker’s partnership with hybrid leader Toyota but utilize Mazda’s Skyactiv platform – including its own transmission. One of the few complaints about the first-ever Mazda CX-50 Hybrid is that it simply doesn’t drive as nicely as the gas-powered CX-50 models, and that’s due to the Toyota hybrid system’s focus on maximum efficiency over all else, including driving dynamics.

We suspect the upcoming Mazda-designed hybrid setup will find a better balance between greater gas mileage and driver enjoyment, including through increased throttle response and more aggressive transmission tuning than what Toyota’s e-CVT offers.

Will this new Mazda hybrid system be all-new, utilizing Skyactiv-Z tech, or based on the carmaker’s current Skyactiv-G lineup? We’ll have to wait and see. Thankfully, we won’t have long to wait: like Skyactiv-Z, the new Mazda hybrid powertrain is planned to arrive by 2027.

Final Thoughts on New Mazda Engine Technologies

With the news of upcoming production versions of the Mazda Skyactiv-Z four-cylinder, two-rotor e-Skyactiv R-EV, and internally developed Mazda hybrid system, drivers will soon have several new powertrain options when selecting their next Mazda car or SUV.

Mazda’s multi-electrification approach will undoubtedly continue catering to differing markets and consumer tastes, as its CEO has suggested, with the Skyactiv-Z the basis of future four-cylinder models, and several electrified powertrains also offered across the lineup.

The brand’s gradual deployment of electrification across its vehicle lineup globally has paid off so far, with rising sales volume (and even record sales figures) in key markets, including its largest, the United States.

By providing multiple solutions – from efficiency-optimized four-cylinders to hybrids, PHEVs, and full EVs – Mazda can offer something for every driver while protecting itself from the whims of consumers – and government regulators – as the electrification era progresses.