{"id":1428,"date":"2011-06-16T10:11:57","date_gmt":"2011-06-16T17:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.corksport.com\/blog\/?p=1428"},"modified":"2018-09-13T13:36:14","modified_gmt":"2018-09-13T21:36:14","slug":"mazda-and-audi-a-match-made-in-heaven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corksport.com\/blog\/mazda-and-audi-a-match-made-in-heaven\/","title":{"rendered":"Mazda and Audi &#8211; A Match Made in Heaven?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.corksport.com\/blogs\/160-Audi+Mazda\/Audi+Mazda.png\"><\/p>\n<p>There have been rumors abound lately about a possible revival of the RX-7 and other rumors about the possible end of the rotary engine altogether, but the latest word on the street is about a possible collaboration between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mazda.com\/\" Target=\"_\">Mazda<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/progress.audiusa.com\/\" Target=\"_\">Audi<\/a> that just may be the savior for the rotary engine.<\/p>\n<p>With the RX-8 soon to be discontinued and mixed signals from Mazda on a possible RX-9 modeled after the RX-7, the fate of the rotary engine is in the minds of many Mazda enthusiasts. The Wankel has been a signature in the Mazda lineup since 1964 when it was first showcased in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.corksport.com\/mazda-museum.html?currency=cad\" Target=\"_\">Cosmo R100 coupe.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Now there\u2019s talk of Audi teaming up with Mazda for the next chapter of the rotary engine car by developing a rotary for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.audi.co.uk\/audi-innovation\/concept-cars\/a1-e-tron.html\" Target=\"_\">Audi A1 e-tron,<\/a> Lexus\u2019s attempt at the nearly all-electric compact with a range extender that currently uses a single-piston rotary engine to charge the batteries as the car is running. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insideline.com\/mazda\/mazda-envisions-rotary-sports-car-of-the-future-with-audi.html\" Target=\"_\">Inside Line<\/a> recently reported that sources inside Mazda say engineers are already developing new technology for the Wankel by potentially removing the conventional spark plugs and replacing them with a laser ignition. By doing this, the engine will be much more efficient and will produce less hydrocarbon emissions than the older version. The car will produce only 130g\/km or carbon dioxide rather than the 299g\/kg that is currently produced by the RX-8. Reports on this development are also followed by reports that a launch of the new rotary has not been green-lighted and the Mazda is seeking additional funding. <\/p>\n<p>So Audi provides the influx of cash and Mazda provides the technology to put a Wankel range-extender underneath the trunk floor of the A1 e-tron. It sounds like a win-win on the surface, but talk is cheap and a Mazda-Audi partnership seems like an odd couple in the making.  <\/p>\n<p>Gwynne-<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There have been rumors abound lately about a possible revival of the RX-7 and other rumors about the possible end of the rotary engine altogether, but the latest word on the street is about a possible collaboration between Mazda and Audi that just may be the savior for the rotary engine. With the RX-8 soon &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/corksport.com\/blog\/mazda-and-audi-a-match-made-in-heaven\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Mazda and Audi &#8211; A Match Made in Heaven?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[52,50,34,51,49],"class_list":["post-1428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-a1-e-tron","tag-audi","tag-mazda","tag-rotary-engine","tag-wankel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corksport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1428"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corksport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corksport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corksport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corksport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/corksport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1428\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corksport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corksport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corksport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}