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Mazda tweet hints the rotary engine is not dead

A translated tweet seems to hint that Mazda is still developing rotary-powered vehicles for future production.

Antuan Goodwin Reviews Editor / Cars
Antuan Goodwin gained his automotive knowledge the old fashioned way, by turning wrenches in a driveway and picking up speeding tickets. From drivetrain tech and electrification to car audio installs and cabin tech, if it's on wheels, Antuan is knowledgeable.
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Corinne Schulze/CNET

After it killed off the RX-8, we thought that Mazda had called off its love affair with the Wankel rotary engine. If the Mazda_PR twitter account is to be believed, perhaps the rumors of the rotary's death have been exaggerated.

The tweet comes out of the other side of Google Translate's tubes as:

To support a lot of RX-8 rotary engine, the message, thank you very much! We are excited together. Mazda "SKYACTIV" said aims to achieve technological breakthroughs, new models are being developed intensively with the next generation of rotary engines. Continued support thank you!

According to the robo-translation, Mazda will continue to support the current RX-8's Renesis rotary engine (presumably by continuing to manufacture and stockpile parts for repairs) and reaffirms its commitment to its SkyActiv efficiency technologies.

Mazda RX-8
Mazda announced this year that it was canceling production of the rotary-powered RX-8. Corinne Schulze/CNET

However, that last "new models...next generation of rotary engines" bit seems to hint that Mazda is still developing rotary-powered vehicles for future production. Specifics aren't given within the 140-character limit, so we're not sure if this future rotary will be gasoline-powered or one of the hydrogen Wankels that Mazda has been developing for years.

However, fans of the RX-8 and the legendary RX-7 can perhaps feel just a bit more hopeful for the future.