Mazda to show a revised RX8 with gas/hydrogen hybrid engine in Tokyo

Hot on the heels of the news we brought you regarding the opportunity of an enlarged rotary engine in the Mazda RX8, called the Renesis 2, now we take in that the Mazda folks will additionally be showing off a revised flex-fuel capable RX8 capable of running on gasoline and hydrogen. Not only that, but the car sounds like it’ll be a hybrid too. You may recall that Mazda already has RX8s running around the streets powered by hydrogen (see related posts below), but we’re pretty certain that that is the first we’ve heard of one of them getting a hybrid powertrain too. The concept of

adding an electric motor to a car with a rotary engine sounds pretty good. Rotaries are known for making lots of horsepower high up in their (stratospheric) rev-range. Electric motors are known for making excellent torque right off idle. Therefore, a hybrid RX8 is likely to be fairly a performer, in addition to the likely gas savings. Hey Mazda - looking for any field-testers by chance? Please?

Related:

• Some potential rotary news for you rotorheads
• Mazda hydrogen-powered RX-8 seen external Japan for first time
• Mazda’s 15-year quest for hydrogen vehicles

[Source: What Car via Autoblog]

Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski