Look at the rotor of "pigeon" for many years! Mazda CEO officially announced that he will return in the form of an extended journey.
The word "range extender" seems very advanced at first glance, but its essence is a fuel-fired generator, so "extended range electric vehicle" was born.
Yes, that's Li Yi's extended journey solution. Combine the advantages of the traditional fuel vehicle with the power of the electric vehicle, use the fuel engine as the power source of the vehicle, and then use the motor to drive the vehicle. Unlike Li ONE, it uses a 1.2T three-cylinder engine made in dongan power as the vehicle range extender.
In fact, the solution of extended range power was put forward a long time ago, and in the memory of some Mazda fans, perhaps Mazda put forward the concept of "rotor range extender" earlier, and the target model at that time was the concept car launched by Mazda 20 15. RX-VISION .
In five years, a car company can do many things, and obviously, during this period, the "rumor" about "rotor resurrection" has never stopped. From the initial "rotor extended range" to the later "full rotor resurrection", it can be said that it has never stopped. Although the new generation of rotary-wing production cars are not lost, Mazda's ability to "draw big cakes" for fans is really unique.
So, what is the insurmountable secret of "rotary engine"? Let me briefly talk about this engine first.
19 In the 1950s, a German genius engineer named Felix Wankel developed the world's first rotary engine, and its test speed on the laboratory bench could even reach 17000 rpm, so this piston-free rotary engine attracted the interest of many main engine plants.
Mazda's "Father of Rotary Engine" Kenichi Yamamoto (1922-2017)
However, although it looks beautiful, this genius invention has a fatal defect, which is poor reliability and durability. Why do you only think of Mazda when you mention "rotor" now? Because only Mazda really mass-produced rotary engines.
The picture shows the Mercedes-Benz concept car C 1 1 1.
At that time, in order to avoid the fate of being merged, Yokota, then president of Mazda, knew very well that he had to master a unique technology to continue the lifeline of his company, so he ordered Kenichi Yamamoto, then deputy manager of Mazda's engine and automobile design department, to complete this seemingly impossible task. As a result, Kenichi Yamamoto selected 46 elites from Mazda to form a special team to jointly overcome the inherent problems of rotary-wing engines. After unremitting efforts, he finally succeeded.
1967 in may, the world's first mass-produced model with a rotary engine was born, that is, Mazda's Cosmo? Exercise? 1 10S sports car.
The beauty of rotary engine is that its unique structure brings completely different running experience. A triangular rotor is placed in an approximately 8-shaped rotor shell, and the eccentric shaft drives the rotor to do eccentric rotation. During the movement of the rotor, the three outer surfaces of the triangular rotor just divide the internal space of the engine into three non-interfering chambers, and the areas of these three chambers will change at any time with the rotation of the rotor, thus dynamically completing the intake, compression, work and exhaust processes of the traditional four-piston engine, which can be described as a rather wonderful design.
Mazda won the first Le Mans 24 Hours Grand Prix for Japanese car companies.
What's more, in the traditional four-stroke engine, the crankshaft needs to rotate for two weeks to complete a complete working cycle, but because of the characteristics of the rotary engine, it can complete the working process for three times once, that is to say, the real rotating speed of the triangular rotor is actually only one third of that of the crankshaft. For example, when the crankshaft rotates at 9000 rpm, the meshed triangular rotor only rotates at 3000 rpm, which makes it easier for the rotary engine to calibrate the ultra-high speed.
The picture shows Mazda RX-8.
Then, why did such a "perfect" rotary engine completely stop production after the last model of Mazda RX-8 went on the market in 20 12?
One is the durability of rotary engines. Although the rotary engine has been mass-produced for decades, its durability is still not as good as that of the traditional reciprocating internal combustion engine. Even if Mazda adopts exquisite air seal design to improve the durability of triangular rotor as much as possible, due to its harsh working environment, the general rotor engine must be overhauled after driving 50000km, otherwise it will be irreversibly damaged, commonly known as "ghost claw", and then it can only be scrapped. For many owners of rotary engines, this is something they have to face, which means "having fun in pain".
The second is the decisive emission problem. The working characteristics of the rotor determine that its combustion time is bound to be shorter, and the combustion of mixed gas is bound to be more incomplete. Therefore, the thermal efficiency of rotary engine is much lower than that of traditional reciprocating internal combustion engine. In addition, this way of doing work, which is more similar to "two-stroke engine", will inevitably lead to higher fuel consumption and more hydrocarbon emissions, and this almost "unsolvable" problem is undoubtedly the "last straw" to crush the rotary engine.
Then, after talking about this story-telling rotary engine, how can we revive it now? Mazda came up with a way to make it a pure gasoline generator and not participate in the task of directly driving the wheels. What is particularly interesting is that at 20 1 1, Audi has put this idea into reality and released Audi A 1? E-tron extended range electric vehicle. You know, the "initiator" of the rotary engine-German NSU Automobile Factory is one of the predecessors of Audi.
This miniature Wankel (yes, Wankel, inventor of the rotor) rotary engine has a displacement of only 0.254 liters and is only responsible for generating electricity for the battery. This extended-range electric vehicle can run continuously for 200km after filling the small fuel tank of 12L, plus the battery life of 50km when fully charged, which is enough for short-distance commuting.
Therefore, looking back at Mazda's rumors at that time, it is much more difficult to make the rotor extended-range car super-run, which is much more difficult than the SUV that pays attention to economy. This is also the reason why Mazda CEO personally "hammered" it out five years later.
There is little other information about this rotor extended range SUV. It is rumored that Mazda may adopt a "flat" rotary engine with a unique layout, but who knows what new ideas Mazda will have later?
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.