The Top Gear DISASTER that destroyed Mazda's rotary supercar forever

You guys probably recognise the Mazda Furai from a brief showing on Top Gear, but what actually happened to this car? It very quickly vanished from the face of Earth, so Mike Fernie takes a dive into this rotary supercar's back story to find out where the car currently resides.
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00:00 What happened to the Mazda Furai?
00:46 What is a rotary like to drive?
01:37 What was the Furai?
03:40 The three-rotor engine
04:59 How does a rotary engine work?
08:37 The fire
09:34 Why the RX-7 is so epic
10:03 Where is the Furai now?
11:32 The future of Mazda

[@haydenbush]

You may not believe me but here it goes… From what I was told by a man who worked or works at Mazda’s North American Operations in Irvine, CA. The car was received back in January 2009 and was assessed by both Mazda’s head of finance and insurance services. The car was then placed under “Special priority” and then sent back to Japan via ship in March 2009. As of sometime in Mid 2012 the car was quote “Being rebuilt for Mazda’s private collection.” That’s all I got. Edit: Wow! Thanks for the likes! I got this information in speaking to a guy from Mazda’s American Operations at the Le Mays Car Museum in Washington State. I honestly can’t remember his name as he was with a few other people overlooking an exhibit but he was quite older. I just remember the topic of the Mazda Furai came up because I mentioned my favorite race car was the #55 787B and then he told me a concept car called the Furai had the same #55 too! And the info I got came from that…

[@rendaddy_]

Even if you're lying, you gave us more interesting info than the whole video.

[@caledonianrailway1233]

Sounds like someone offered them a lot for it to go to to a private collection

[@user-neo71665]

@@caledonianrailway1233 Mazda's private collection. Mazda has pretty much a museum/warehouse of every car model they have ever built including race cars.

[@bucketslash11]

that is at least 1 possible thread to follow

[@wr1ght939]

I freaking hope so.

[@mikecochrane803]

That is absolutely legendary. A car that was completely totalled while Top Gear had it during the peak years, and Hammond wasn't even driving it. There can't be many in that category.

[@evo8nut]

😂😂😂

[@zeroinfinity5864]

Well it was the cars fault. A design flaw. They should have had the flames in mind when making the car.

[@chrischaf]

@@zeroinfinity5864 Ya know, on a one-of-one priceless concept/prototype like this one, a built in fire suppression system doesn't sound like a bad idea 🤔

[@BurmaJ]

Research efforts : one email ✅

[@TurboHappyCar]

Well he also repeated all of the myths about the engine, like stacking rotors and apex seals flying out. I skipped that part of the video.

[@sianwarwick633]

When a company doesnt cooperate, they dont cooperate. This is Drivetribe making their case for options

[@PeterShire]

Lol, and I wish he shared some details on the dates of these events. Was this car introduced in 2008, 2009? When did it burn?

[@AntiVaganza]

Well, sports and car journalism should in my opinion most often be in brackets. Also, adding social media to the mix often dilutes the journalism part even more. So, yeah, this was well below their normal standard. But hey, at least Hammond is saving the planet. He surely must be the only one working on synthetic fuels in GB. I heard it on youtube!

[@inha1ed]

I remember that car only because I played Forza Motorsport 4

[@SWatchik]

Still one of the best racing games. Probably put more hours into that than any other.

[@Jason-gq8fo]

Was gonna say the same thing!

[@Challenger160]

That was my favourite LMP car in that game.

[@Endidixknsej]

Didn’t even know it was in that game

[@josephj807]

For me I only saw it is asphalt 8

[@PhilMann]

I remember being asked to do a customer research piece for Mazda. They bundled us into a room with tea and biscuits and had lots of Qs about the style of cars I liked etc etc, then images of various concepts and asking which we preferred and why, emotions felt etc etc. I still remember when I saw the image of (essentially) the Furai. It was jaw dropping, so much better than the other images they'd had. I remember leaving and thinking Mazda were going to have some very special looking cars if they changed their design language to something like that. When I saw the Furai itself online I immediately recalled that Research session. What a car, what a sound. Bravo Mazda.

[@omega1575]

I would like to thank this car for its help in the Like The Wind championship in GT5, I couldn’t beat it without it.

[@kabongpope]

FD RX-7 is one of the best looking cars out there. First time I saw one parked up in a garage in the early 90s I had to check it out because it didn't look like anything on the road.

[@majist0]

Easily one of the most beautiful cars ever made. The Spirit R is peak design.

[@Blas4ublasphemy]

Looks just like a C5 Corvette and kind of like a Saturn Sky. GM likes the look too...

[@JoshuaC923]

My favourite car

[@spyrule]

There is still nothing on the road that compares...

[@Subversion121]

*the best looking car out there

[@finncarlbomholtsrensen1188]

As an elderly man of 76 I remember when German NSU came with first the small and absurdly expensive NSU Spyder, based on an NSU Printz and later the gorgeous NSU RO80! But they never managed to make it function and constantly changed engines on the warranty!!! A Swedish journalist had 3 engines in his RO80!! It seems that only Mazda could make the engine function?

[@UncleManuel]

If one person can revolutionize the rotary engine then it is Rob Dahm. Taking the engine apart, analyze it, realize its problems, use dowels & CNC machines to make it bulletproof, tune it on Haltech ECUs, understand how a rotary engine wants to be tuned. And share it all transparently on KZbin. 😎🤘 Btw: Rob Dahm has currently a triple-4-rotor boat engine in his shop to make it run properly, he is tasked by its builder Tyson Gavin. It's a 12-rotor engine with 15.7 litres displacement and modular E-shafts. It was developed to replace a Chevy big block in a racing boat. ✌

[@benjaminbuschi284]

We need to all spam Rob on his video's and get him to build a replica Furai.

[@ArgonBlargh]

@@benjaminbuschi284 His next episode starts with "today we are forgetting about and dropping everything we are doing to fully recreate the Furai"

[@TJagla1989]

At the other end - there's Mukka Motorsports naturally aspirated 6 rotor beast, that sounds like nothing in this world!

[@lucky7s94]

I wish he could do more content on both the 4 rotor and the 12, but he's wrapped up doing 3 rotor things and pikes peak stuff lately

[@julshg]

don't forget to mention this absurdity of an engine is supposed to get some spooly bois👀🥵

[@WWarped1]

Going from memory here, so might get this wrong. Wasn't there a few grainy photos around 2009/10 of it being unloaded from a ship? Mazda went nuts and wanted the photos destroyed, and took legal action. I only recall it because of the many debates. Some thought the grainy picture were actually a 757 or 767 prototype, whilst others said it was Furai. The car was matt black, so details were not fantastic. I also think it was missing wheels. I remember this because I was hanging around some Mazda forums looking for details about the autozam/mazda AZ-1, and info about importing.

[@FriendlyCroock]

look man the reality is that it wasn't a reliable prototype.

[@howardosborne8647]

@@FriendlyCroock It was a very fast Fire Engine which lived up to its title 😂

[@nicktrovato139]

I still think about this car at random. I think it has the best looking backend I’ve ever seen on a car.

[@Yvolve]

10:16 Whoever laid that skid mark, can thank their ABS and traction control for saving their lives. If that front wheel had locked, the car would've gone up and over that ramp-shaped bank. Crazy to see ABS at work so clearly, even after the fact.

[@LazyFingersITB]

I live around here, it’s a lovely corner but sharper than it looks. The bank continues round and then flattens out a bit further down. I saw this mark not long ago and thought the exact same thing same thing, it was probably a very quiet drive home for them after that save.

[@Yvolve]

@@LazyFingersITB I imagine the level of pucker was quite high, probably took a chunk out of their seat. From the video the corner seems to have quite a bit of camber as well, making it that much harder to get right.

[@kevin6666123]

Kinda looks like the skid marks you get from the wheels on the trailer of an articulated lorry with the 3 large tread bands visible on the road. They often lock up/under rotate leaving marks like that.

[@ascgazz7347]

@@Yvolveyou have a particular way with words.. made me chuckle. 😂

[@Yvolve]

@@ascgazz7347 Thank you, I try.

[@midgetspinner7007]

Bro really contacted the customer care email for Mazda USA and took their response to heart. They would know nothing about the internal ongoings of concept cars being developed and as such likely just don't know the answer. Not suspicious at all if you know anything about the industry

[@bumble3572]

As a proud owner of an RX-8, I pray for a true RX-9 in the future. For the flaws of the rotary engine, it truly is a dream engine

[@adambeimel104]

yes, and we should also look for lamborghini, ferrari and AMG GT motors over 100k. all rare types ;-) if you have a special engine it should be treated like one, leave it time to warm up, and don't stop it immediately to let it cool. Unfortunately I never had a car like this, but I allways tried to treat those I had with respect (no reving while cold, oil change in time, etc.)

[@Anamnesis]

Given Mazda's size and operating budget, we should count our blessings we still even have the MX-5 available, and it's far simpler and more affordable by comparison to the old rotaries that were highly specialized. They've been teasing upscale grand touring concepts for over a decade with nothing to show for it, and until they can fully leverage their relationship with Toyota, there won't be a new halo model. All you have to do is walk onto a dealer lot to see they really just want to sell luxury CX models now anyways, so any specialty model would be extremely low volume, not to mention enormously expensive; if the old FD RX-7 was still around at the prices it sold for brand new 25 years ago, that would be the equivalent of about $60-80K USD today.

[@ArthurZakaryan23]

Sadly that's what people are buying and no mass market car OEM can ignore this if they want to continue existing. The more high volume models they sell to bolster their overall financial health, the higher the chance they can take more risks with building more specialized low volume models.

[@pauliewalnuts240]

Everyone wants sports cars back but they don't buy them when they come out. Suvs are the default vehicles choice sadly.

[@DroneStrike1776]

I currently drive a 2019 Mazda3 AWD hatchback US spec. Also owned a 88 FC RX-7 in 1997 when I was in highschool. Mazda is such an underrated company. They're small cars are really fun to drive.

[@IAnolastname]

@@pauliewalnuts240 nobody buys them because they ask near GT-R money for a supra after you're OTD

[@puffpio]

The other interesting stat is that Franz von Holzhausen (Teslas chief designer) was working at Mazda at the time and was involved in the design of the Furai

[@thaburninator0904]

Man that makes sense, I dont know much about car designers but if what you say is true, that man is one of the best ones out there.

[@elchucapablas]

Well then he forgot everything he knew because those teslas sure look plain

[@martingreenaway8748]

Was this where he got the idea for the inflammable cars, then?

[@SonicProvocateur]

Well that idea really didn't pan out either huh

[@ish474]

I saw it at its debut at the North American International Auto Show I probably spent an hour photographing it. the thing you might not get unless you saw it in person is that every single angle of the car looks amazing

[@ehyojono]

Nice Canadian tuxedo Mike. Looks like an Albertan edition.

[@finlaylavery8408]

Speaking of Mazda, Mike, on an early Top Gear episode from around series 3 the guys had The Classic Wall, a derivative of The Cool Wall for possible future classics and Crocks. One car that was placed in the Crock section by your boss, Mr Richard Hammond, described as "Fake Japanese take on a British sports car..." the Mazda MX5... would you care to take this up with him at some point?

[@beauthestdane]

Bought my MX-5 in 1993, I still drive it today as my daily driver.

[@BySixa]

Chris Harris has the same take

[@Recessio]

I'd love to see a revisit of the entire Crocks and Classics board (and the Cool Wall). So many bad takes!

[@lukew6725]

​@@RecessioKinda cheating to redo the classic wall after the car has already become a bit of a classic. The whole point was that they were trying to predict which car would become a classic.

[@Recessio]

@@lukew6725 I'm saying they should see if their predictions 20 years ago were right or wrong lol

[@jaydentierney2194]

Every hotwheels collector just died at 3:01

[@veritasardens6547]

Not all Hotwheels collectors would die, there are many like myself who love keeping my cars uncarded and love taking pictures and toying around with them.

[@2chuu24u3]

I have a HW Furai in original colors uncarded. Gotta unwrap em toys!

[@peterbellwood5412]

@@2chuu24u3 Am I allowed to say 'me too'? I've added some realistic wheels and rubber tyres to mine.

[@markuks]

So you made a video of the Skyline, Impreza, Evo, now the RX-7. Will there be a video of the NSX or the S2000? why did honda drop the s2000

[@M3PH11]

they weren't making any money on it

[@justrandomstuff84]

S2000 was discontinued for the same reason as the Supra, Celica, MR2, Silvia, Integra, Eclipse, GTO, FTO and several other JDM sports cars... there was no more demand for them. the generation that mainly bought these cars, they grew out of them, they now wanted big luxurious sedans and wagons (family cars) at that point, the golden era of Japanese sports cars was over.

[@Nordlicht05]

​​​​@@justrandomstuff84 Most people after that were mostly interested in used ones and wouldn't pay the money for a new one. I mean before a hype for some models. Here in Germany Japanese cars had a hard time. A little older there was a test between a BMW 3 series all wheel drive and a Subaru legacy turbo. The Subaru had all fancy options and the BMW nearly nothing. Slower smaller more expensive. What did people buy?? 3 series with rear wheel drive. Ok to be honest real wheels drive was the way to go with these BMW. But sold legacy's... Not much. I remember prices for the supra or nsx. Most normal new car buyers saw.... What money for a honda??? No thanks.

[@thh4584]

S2000 was garbage.

[@classicraceruk1337]

@@thh4584I drove one and pretty much agree. I bought a Type R instead.

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

Maybe the answer was that 'abrupt' because the press office person doesn't know anything about the car, because those people tend to move through jobs quickly and you'd be talking about 'an old concept car' that they'd never heard of? Or maybe they think Drivetribe is related to Top Gear and having a concept destroyed by or with the mags involvement is still painful?

[@ramotive]

The Furai was the coolest thing made by an automotive brand imo

[@edwardfletcher7790]

I'll raise you a Sesto Elemento or Koenigsegg Gemera. 👍

[@minners71]

Nah Ford with the GT40 takes that title.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

@@minners71 Lots of cool vehicles have been made since the 1960's Ford race car ..

[@minners71]

@@edwardfletcher7790 And your point is? Or am I not allowed an opinion, if I had the money to buy any car in the world it would be a classic gt40 in the gulf livery, coolest thing ever built by a automotive company and race winning stats to boot.

[@krazyhartin]

The likely outcome of the fire on the Top Gear track may have shown a design flaw of the body; inadequate cooling may have been the reason for the fire. This could be the reason Mazda doesn't want to show case the Furai and don't want to admit to the design flaws of the car; that's one reason. Another reason, is Mazda may have trust issues with motor journalists since then, and they wish to avoid further criticism relating to the fire incident.

[@necavenue]

Pretty sure Mazda new the design wasn't proper since it was just a concept. In fact they basically took a race car chassis and slapped a concept car shell over it. I don't think they did proper wind tunnel tests for real world engine cooling. The concept car wasn't designed for all out racing, just marketing. Now if they designed it for homologation that would be different, and the car would look different too.

[@andylarham5251]

The Furia is currently at area 51, hence the abrupt answer😮

[@nagasako7]

What you are saying.. BBC owes Mazda a super car program 😂

[@Rose_Butterfly98]

But not really since the top gear didn't actually do anything out of the ordinary. Either way, Mazda has the chassis in their collection or something.

[@DjDolHaus86]

I might start paying my TV licence if it helps

[@BradleyGibbs]

​@@Rose_Butterfly98the story literally describes them doing something out of the ordinary.

[@Rose_Butterfly98]

@@BradleyGibbs kind of, not really, according to the test driver's account they were allowed to go do their tests at the track, the only out of the ordinary thing was the visibility of the track so the fire crew got there a little late

[@bjorn1583]

@@DjDolHaus86 never pay your tv licence

[@kristalturner509]

DriveTribe has become an amazing part of my week as of late. Thank you for your great content!

[@simoncordingley3122]

I once owned an RX4. It was smooooth. But not as viscous as my friend’s peripheral ported RX4 with twin webbers and upgraded suspension, that shot out two foot flames.

[@sparkysimian]

did you just publish an entire Rotary video without Ro... Ha! Right as I was about to type Rob's name, you bring him up.

[@madcat4563]

I remember that car from my (only) issue of Top gear turbo challenge. We just called them top gear cards. Shout out to whoever remembers those.

[@Sgt_SealCluber]

Rotary are still very useful as small aircraft engine due to their power to weight ratio, smaller size, and reduced vibrations.

[@webb2800]

Suprised they're not used in motorcycle's more often for the same reasons.

[@torstikinnunen3801]

I'd think rotary could be used for boat engines as well. Although costs for running and fixing might be an issue.

[@bjorn1583]

@@webb2800 rotaries were a failure in bikes, just ask suzuki

[@webb2800]

@@bjorn1583 I wonder if a modern rotary would perform better? Seems a lot of the issues on the Suzuki bike were down to over complexity

[@alexandercowin4921]

talking of adding rotor housings to increase the number, shoutout PPRE for making a 6 rotor drift car that sounds like an f1 car

[@ChishanFipz]

Nothing puts a smile on my face more than my RX8 on some twisty roads. Sublime steering and handling.

[@srr441]

Same.

[@Wylef_the_Stubborn]

I am a 40 y/o man and I still cannot say "Wankle Engine" with out having to suppress a giggle...

[@rendaddy_]

neither you can spell it correctly

[@mtylerw]

53 y/o man here. Same, and I want one. 😂 do it Hammond!

[@nolowputts]

The guy the engine is named after was German, so it should be pronounced with a "V", like Vunkel. But that's clearly not as fun.

[@mikehipperson]

@@nolowputts What a'W⚓'!

[@AllNamesWereAlreadyTaken]

Cause it's a "Wankel-Motor"

[@kawaiikeyboards]

honestly idk why this video feels disappointing because the Furai in the end was just a concept cars, and concept cars get crushed or dismantled all the time. At least the Furai "died" doing what it was meant to do and didn't end up as a non moving show piece with little usage. But honestly I think I read somewhere that rebuilding the Furai was too costly and with the downturn in the economy and focus on environmental alternatives the rotary (at the time) was doomed to fail. But thankfully things have changed now and the RX-Vision and Iconic SP proves Mazda hasn't given up on rotary engines just yet

[@caerxm]

died doing what it was meant to do? ah yes, mazda build a million dollar race car just for revving and shooting flames.

[@ZX3000GT1]

​@@caerxm Furai was a concept car first and foremost, and while it was indeed poised to be a race car later on, it was still in its development phases. Finding problems are common in concept cars (usually not this fiery tbf, but point still stands), and cost was the problem for continuing this project (Mazda ain't exactly a particularly large manufacturer unlike Toyota or Honda) moreso than the car catching fire.

[@number1yota]

Am I the only one that got 3 Mazda commercials during this film? I'd love to see Mazda back in the sports car game. I remember the Furai from Top Gear, and Forza, and I have the Hot Wheels as well.

[@NO3V]

Designed back in the day by Tesla's chief designer Franz von Holzhausen. His later stuff got more useful but not less purposeful.

[@mikehipperson]

Rob Dahm also is in possession of a 12 rotor 'W' engine originally designed for marine use!

[@scaree2496]

It's my all time favourite concept car. I race it really often in Assetto Corsa. It sounds amazing!

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

The fuel air mixture in a gasoline engine does not "explode". It burns rapidly. If it explodes that's called "knocking" or Dieseling, and it damages most non-Diesel engines.

[@poppukornmiichan]

It was almost to shown in Thailand (The Furai) but then Top Gear ..... (If i was remembered in Drive by J!mmy (Headlightmag) it was said before Top Gear Borrow the Furai it was Plan to Showcase in Thailand International Motor Expo (if i remember correctly if i watch that mentioned week i will edit the comment later on.)

[@mpk490p]

Great video Mike you seem to fit well in the 7! love mine had serval over the last 25 years. I also hope there is more for the rotary engine, they just need looking after and servicing more but when you do the reward is worth the effort!

[@coach4050]

Remembering this car these days wild that you guys did this vid in this time. The design didn’t age at all.

[@EyesOfByes]

That car is absolutely amazing in RealRacing3. They nailed the engine noice for that car in the game

[@ubernoob103]

The Furai is ingrained into my head. I was obsessed with it in year 6 thanks to top gear mag. Over the years, I always wondered where it went. Once the article came out explaining the accident, I was genuinely shocked. What a shame.

[@ceesdewidt887]

Thnx, great video again. The rotary engine is such a phantastic technical concept in spite of its issues (NSU RO80 owners however may not agree….). Sorry to see that nobody else picked this up and perfected it. Will never forget the sound of that car blasting down the Mulsanne straight in 2002. 👍

[@joelavery3235]

6:00 I feel like I’m watching an episode of “How it’s Made” which I love. My first introduction to these cars was my 1986 RX-7. It was my first car and it was also a manual.

[@frykyfryky1]

remember this car from gran turismo, still looks amazingg

[@dvdemon187]

9:40 How the heck did you bust up the RX-7 badge?

[@penguinactually]

so many words spoken, yet so little said

[@Sverkell]

Fantastic video! please give us an update on the Brera next.

[@peterbellwood5412]

Great suggestion.

[@bartekzieba6711]

Some said , it was being rebuilt in secret Mazda facility in Fukushima in early March 2011.....

[@RitvikSingh-jx9qc]

R.I.P

[@krevo6c]

Love my Mazda Furai in "Nitro Nation".

[@_NobodyImportant]

What an enjoyable watch to learn how the rotary engine works!! I always wondered how they work and now i know 🙂

[@brianawd]

Rofl. The 787B was detuned from 900hp to 700hp. 24hr race comes down to longevity. Makes no difference if you are 12secs faster in qualifying. It comes down to what happens on race day.

[@ryanlove5332]

It’s also about fuel efficiency. Being able to do more laps per stint than the competitors. I have never watched the 91 edition of the race. What were their stint lengths like?

[@marksneddon5571]

That Mazda RX7 still looks amazing even after all these years, definitely aged well styling wise. Always wanted a Mazda in the 90s be it a 323 Turbo or MX6 could never afford a RX7

[@ifeelcoke4347]

Will there be any updates to the Connaught V10 project?

[@craighall6185]

Mike, Mazdas already have a small rotary in the Latest CX-30…so your bang on!

[@davidy7004]

I think it's the MX-30 (not CX-30) in the UK?

[@JohnySv]

These engines don't have issues people talk about, they have issues with owners who don't know how to use them. If you treat them well they're as reliable as a normal piston engine. I have 2 rotary cars, one of them as a daily and another modified for the track and I haven't had to open the engine block on either of them for nearly 7 years.

[@DRRCreations]

I saw the Furai at the Goodwood Festival of Speed..........................ahhhhhhh the sound! 😍😍😍

[@razick0]

I remember this car from Grid Autosport. Was an absolute beast.

[@PJTierney]

This car was last seen in GRID Legends in 2022, so presumably Mazda was okay with licensing the car to Codemasters for the game. From the sounds of that Press Office reply we won’t see anything of the real car any time soon, so I guess we’ll have to do with the virtual versions.

[@halofreak1990]

Imo, the correct way to compare the displacement of a rotary engine to a piston engine, is to apply the same calculus, meaning you measure the amount of air displaced by the engine for a full rotation of the crank- or, in the case of a rotary, eccentric shaft. Not sure how/why the displacement of a rotary was ever a discussion, when the same basic principles apply.

[@adventuredrivenaus]

I remember that thing! It blew my mind! Such a shame it never went ahead…

[@trevormonk907]

Remember seeing this at the excel motor show many moons ago was a looker then and holds up today shame it’s hidden away forever more

[@lokichoki_]

My first two cars, 86 and 87 2nd gen rx-7. Both 200k plus and both just kept going. Throttle input was as direct feeling as it gets and the engine revved quickly making a great driver

[@baritengku7655]

I remember Richard hammond driving the Furai in an episode. Or am I mistaken ? I’ve looked for it on yt and couldent find it.

[@superr4368]

Has anyone seen the inverse version of the wankle. A company called “Liqui-Piston” has the sharp edges in the outer structure and a rounded rotational piece. Ingenious!!

[@Pholiage]

I guess the rumors about rotarys being unreliable is the same as the greatness of the Rx7. It never fades... There is actually a 6 rotor in use in a burnout car in Australia. And Rob Dahm has a 12 Rotor made from a small company for a race boat. Also a 5 rotor by Mazzei Formula. He is actually making a spirital version of the Mazda Furai.

[@Naris48]

I could also be that the person in question, that authored the reply, had no clue where the Furai wound up, especially since that was 30 years ago...

[@winconfig]

I'm dumb and I've got a dumb question. Could the Doritos on a rotary engine be offset more on the drive shaft to generate more pounds of twerk? I'm thinking it is more leverage, like a long handle on a tool.

[@nastybun]

The rotors still have to spin around that central axis, so if you wanted to extend out the lobes on the crank, you'd either have to increase the size of the rotors or just have them oscilalate further, which increases the tip speeds, which makes sealing them exponentially harder, as well as increasing the volume of the housing which lowers the compression, and it also increases the rotating mass and associated stresses on other components. Hence they added more rotors to create the 20B in the Cosmo instead of making a bigger twin rotor.

[@JaSon-wc4pn]

As well as more Vibrations and engine rock, Think rumble pad on playstation controller

[@srr441]

They rev high instead. And the gear box brings that back down to the right speed for the wheels. This also multiplies the torque up, that is why the car is able to accelerate. The torque issue is really just not driving far enough up the rev range. This however leads to low fuel efficiency.

[@lukew6725]

I absolutely love that you straight up called them Doritos. 😂

[@ryanlove5332]

I think the 10A series rotary engines were 50mm thick rotors, the 12A were 60mm thick rotors, the 13B was 70mm i believe or something like that. I have read that Mazda were working on an 80mm thick rotor. You can also have a 5 or 7 tipped rotor as well. They car constant diameter but variable radius.

[@SL4PSH0CK]

Noway Talkin about the Furai!?!

[@JoshuaC923]

I read that picture report they released years after the event, heart breaking.

[@terrygoyan3022]

I had the chance to see the Mazda LMP-2 car race at Laguna Seca. IMSA prototype racing was at its pinnacle at the time and provided legendary racing with world class drivers. The sound of the Mazda was incredible. Like the time space continuum being ripped apart! Loved it......

[@gabrielvillanueva6394]

i think the scrapped body was transported to the design studio in southern California, according to some sites i read about the car

[@rodmorgan7041]

What an amazing looking car. But at my age, the best bedroom wallposter car of all time was the Countach.

[@Truex007]

Rob Dahm's 4WD 4-rotor is the stuff of legends, but if you watch Rob's channel, he'll talk about six, and even more insanely, a twelve rotor engine, made from three four rotor banks, the last being a marine engine.

[@bertram-raven]

There is a 12 rotor being rebuilt in the USA. The previous build had timing issues. Hopefully, the new one will not.

[@C-M-E]

That sounds a bit like corporate speak for "We sent the remains to recycling", meaning it's Everywhere! 😉

[@woundedcrow4606]

It’s less of a problem regarding the apex seals. That can be fixed. It’s more of a problem with the fact that all of the engines combustion occurs in one space, as opposed to having it being displaced into several cylinders. The wear from only having one space where all combustion occurs causes scoring that can’t be repaired. Maybe they’ll build a rotary engine with a more durable combustion chamber.

[@tomjoseph1444]

Back in the 70's, there was an offshore race boat that had 33 Mazda engines. Three of them ran the oil pumps for the other 30 (15 per side/prop). Then there was the Mercedes C-111 with the Rotory engine.

[@moonwolfproductionsans5239]

I recently got myself an RX-8 and I just love it

[@benodaboy]

When I saw the furi in school I was captivated. I studied it for design class. Still one of the best looking cars ever

[@Nutzi133]

Lanborghini burns down every day of the week. Their response "eyy it'sa spiccy automobiili". One Mazda burns down and it seems someone committed seppuku or something

[@rarkitorparkit]

The 20B in the Furai's was a RENESIS version of this engine wasn't it? Slightly different design to 20B in JC (same,same but different, ya know) Wasn't the 757's triple rotor called the 13G? There have also been 5 and 6 rotor engines constructed (and that 12 rotor one using Mazda rotor's)

[@RotaryBern]

really just a few internal RENI pieces, more for marketing exercise then RENI based. It was actually more 20B than RENI. It was designated a R20B. It did run on alcohol though. The 757 did run a 13G 3-Rotor engine.

[@rarkitorparkit]

@@RotaryBern Cheers for the info

[@MJL-91]

I’m 32 when i first saw an rx7 as a 9 year old lad I was mesmerised it’s been my favourite car ever since. I too would have a FD over an r34 any day just something special about the rotary engines that those skyline fanboys don’t get. Let’s hope in the near future Mazda makes something truly great again.

[@brianb-p6586]

This was posted a month ago, but misses that Mazda has been using rotary engines in the MX-30 R-EV series hybrid since last year.

[@sharonsmutts]

I owed an RX 7 back in the day it was so much fun...it was was fine when i drove to london back to Southampton often with my foot to the floor..but it really did not like short trips...

[@Raptile07]

One of the most beautiful cars of all time. This car as a road-legal car with over 800 hp would be epic.

[@PerryWhyte]

The thing that surprised me the most in this video was Mike's Mighty Ducks hat.

[@LockieNZ]

It's not quite 2x the capacity compared to a piston engine, as the two rotors are 180 degrees out from each other. Most motorsports with engine capacity categories multiply it by 1.7

[@DaytonasGarden]

I would love that idea though. I'm mazda made their competitor to a accord or camry hybrid but they do a 2 or 3 rotary hybrid family car with similar safety and reliability.... dude it would be still a nice car. Especially with modern styling, their mazda 3 looks awesome and mine, yes mine is so nice inside compared to new civics and corolla.

[@j.m.7580]

What a car that Furai! I’m an RX-8 owner - love it, quirks and all.

[@Huskycomicowner]

The hot wheels version is what introduced me to the furai. Years ago

[@89sirmonk]

Zoom zoom was fantastic marketing. I remember actually enjoying watching those ads.

[@sturmifan]

there also is a 12 rotor out there. rob has had it befor i dont know if he plans on putting it in one of his cars

[@madmodvideogames4084]

You forgot to mention the 6 rotor that mad Mike has and the 12 rotor that rob dham is rebuilding.

[@markmark5269]

The Furai is sitting in Japan completely stripped to the last nut and bolt, all packaged. labeled and sitting in a rear workshop at the Mazda Museum at Hiroshima. That's all I know and I know it after having lunch with a very enthusiastic Mazda engineer in China. I even got the impression he realised he had probably said too much after he said it, I don't know why.

[@bernyherrera9109]

sadly not the case... Furai is gone.

[@veritasardens6547]

Nice to have a version of the Hotwheels model of the Mazda Furai in my Hotwheels collection. That way it still lives on!. It is a very unique car in terms of not just its performance but its design that exuded elegance in every respect.

[@SupraSav]

I have sat in countless rotary powered vehicles, from stock to 750+ rwhp. I am still fascinated at how it functions, as well as how compact and efficient(not at idle..) it is. The animation for the rotary's combustion cycle always has my attention