Mazda to may unveil something about a new rotary engine this week

As first reported by Autocar, Chang’an Mazda, the 50:50 joint venture between Mazda and China’s Changan Automobile, has published the following image through its social account featuring a 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport:

Apparently, what we see around Mazda’s first rotary-powered car is a new logo for the brand’s “7th Gen Product Cluster”, along with the phrase “rotor engines make the world more beautiful.”

Mazda’s executive officer, Mitsuo Hitomi has already confirmed that some sort of a rotary engine will be used as range extender for the brand’s upcoming 2020 electric cars. Not for its efficiency, of course, but because it can be much quieter than a piston engine, which suits EVs better. Based on the Chinese announcement, this is probably what we can expect to see later his week.

Elaborating further on the range extender project, Hitomi added that even without a plan for an actual product, Mazda is “of course developing a rotary engine alone.”

Which would explain Mazda’s patented rotary-sized engine bay leaked five days ago. Remember, 2020 will be the brand’s 100th year in the controlled explosion business, so it’s an auspicious occasion to reveal a heritage engineering project so important to Mazda’s identity.