At first, the rotary engine was just an experimental machine and could not run for a long time. Moreover, because of the high speed, the rotary engine does work three times per revolution, while the general four-stroke engine does work only once per revolution, which makes the cylinder wall unbearable. Mazda is very optimistic about this engine.
1964, the first production car with rotary engine came out. 1968, Mazda successfully completed the race in the stage of the 84-hour endurance race in New Boglin with the score of 1 10S, which proved the rotary engine to the world. Since then, the rotating engine belonging to modern people has been turned on!
By 1970, Mazda has been studying rotary engines for nearly ten years. This year, Mazda's first RX-2 model was officially released at 17 Tokyo Motor Show.
"R" stands for rotary rotor engine and "X" stands for the future. This car is equipped with a newly developed 12A rotary engine. In the same year, RX-3 went on the market, and later replaced the 12B rotary engine, which defeated Nissan Skyline GT-R in domestic competition and ushered in a 50-game winning streak in domestic competition.
This car not only represents the top technology of the automobile industry at that time, but also shows the result of Mazda's unremitting pursuit of advanced technology.
1970, 17 before the oil crisis at Tokyo Motor Show, it was also the peak period of Japanese automobile industry. Both inside and outside the exhibition were crowded with cars, including Toyota EX 7, Nissan 270 x and 126 X, and Isuzu 1600 MX.
Like the future concept car, Mazda RX500, which represents the future of rotary engine and Mazda's future vision, also appeared in Mazda exhibition hall at the same time as Mazda RX-2.
The exterior of RX 500 looks quite sci-fi. It doesn't look anything like a sports car in the 1970s. Its windshield is designed around and looks like a starship.
The air inlets on the hood and fender look more like some kind of fusion reactor air inlet that can be seen in science fiction movies, while the mirror looks like a sensor, and the large air inlet behind the window looks like the air inlet on a jet plane.
The wheels are also beautifully designed and look like they can hover. The door adopts butterfly door design, which is more futuristic as a whole.
But I think the most attractive part of this car is the rear. The nearly horizontal rear cover is integrated with the roof. The tail is also equipped with a streamlined tail and a quadrilateral exhaust pipe.
There is a huge red stripe in the middle with the words "rotation provides power" printed on it, which is quite exaggerated. Below, two prominent square exhaust pipes are painted red. The tail looks a bit like a Ferrari 250 GT shooting brake, but it looks even weirder.
The design of this car came from Mazda's design team, including Shigenori Fuuda, who later became the head of Mazda's design team.
The designer admitted that the design was influenced by some Italian sports car design styles. Especially some works from Bertone, but the overall design is basically original. The designer also revealed that the design of this car was also influenced by the 200 1 Chinese spacecraft.
This is not enough to produce a futuristic mid-engine supercar, although it is equipped with an improved double-rotor 10A engine with a maximum power of 247 HP.
This car led the design trend at that time and was very safe. The light group at the rear of the car can display the state of the car with color indicator lights, such as accelerating, braking or taxiing. Decades later, this special concept light group did not become popular, but adaptive brake lights became popular and applied.
Although this is not a full-size car, it has excellent spatial performance because of its unique shape. It can be said that RX500 represents the future of Mazda, but it was born at an inopportune time, because the oil crisis occurred shortly after the appearance of this Mazda concept car, and Mazda's prospects were not optimistic at first.
Although Mazda has never produced a road supercar like RX 500, the racing project with a mid-engine was finally applied to the legendary 787 B model at 199 1, and won an all-round victory in Le Mans. After that, the rotary engine was banned from entering this series of competitions.
Mazda Autozam AZ- 1 is a K-type car with a mid-engine and beautiful gull-wing door design. Perhaps this is the closest product to RX 500 in Mazda's history, but this car only uses Suzuki's three-cylinder DOHC 12v turbocharged F6A engine.
In 2008, only one Mazda RX 500 concept car was exhibited at Numaji Transportation Museum in Hiroshima, where Mazda is located.
But the 1: 59 matchbox model based on this model has been sold in the market for more than ten years.
It is understood that Mazda still insists on the research and development of rotor engines, and rotor technology will be used in hybrid power systems in the future. The advantage of hybrid system is fuel saving, but the disadvantage is weak power. Under continuous high load, that Atkinson engine really works. The rotor engine is characterized by high power. Fuel consumption drops, unlimited potential!
You know, the special structure of the rotary engine gives him the ability to light three fires in one circle of the crankshaft. In addition, its stable structure makes its rotational speed soar to 13000 rpm, while Lamborghini's maximum rotational speed is less than 9,000 rpm.