TOKYO: Youtuber noriyaro recently showcased a unique car meet in Japan and the only way to get a featured spot is that it has to be powered by a rotary-engine from Mazda.
The car meet shows just how "love" for the rotary engine is still very much alive in Japan as carmakers, except Mazda, have all but abandoned use of such an engine citing reliability as well as emissions issues and high service costs due to its engine oil-burning ways.
The reason Mazda to keep pursuing the advancement of rotary engines is that the amount of power it can extract out of such an engine is far more efficient compared to the piston-powered engines.
There are far less power-robbing components to move and it's extremely lightweight and compact in design.
Mazda's Cosmo was the first car to debut with a dual-Wankel rotary engine back in the late 1960s which brought about the legendary RX-3, RX-7 and the finally the RX-8.
The Japanese carmaker also managed to win the coveted 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in 1991 with the rotary-powered 787B race car.
Its performance was deemed as an unfair advantage and it was quickly deemed that "non-piston engines" be banned from the race.
Rotary engines are known for their ability to build engine speeds quickly and redline almost as high as a superbike's.
With forced-induction (turbo/supercharger), torque can be immensely increased but usually at the expense of durability and extremely bad emission levels.
Regardless of the rotary engine's negative points, this engine has managed to rile up plenty of passion and capture plenty of enthusiasts worldwide.
