Mazda has shared a video on its U.S. YouTube channel where it reminisces about the past and makes an allegorical transition towards the future. Let us inspect it a bit closer.
The footage claims that a ‘mystery’ will be revealed on Thursday, January 12. Multiple hints scattered throughout the video let us conclude that the company promises to make rotary engine available as a paid option for all MX-30 EV buyers in the USA. In case you opt for the engine, it will not drive the wheels directly, but will instead generate power for the main electric system.
The automaker let it slip earlier that an MX-30 R-EV was set to debut soon with a Wankel engine under the hood. The reveal was slated for the AutoSalon-2023 in Brussels, Belgium, which begins on January 13, but the dates check out when you consider the time zone difference. It will still be January 12 in the United States when the car is fully revealed in Europe.
Furthermore, at about the same time as the teaser was published, Mazda announced the pricing for its 2023 MX-30 lineup in the USA. The cars are still sold exclusively in California, and the press release makes an explicit mention of a rotary engine acting as range extender.
In the same video, you can see Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada walking past iconic Mazda cars, many of which were powered by classic Wankel engines. He then enters a darker room with a few mysterious boxes in it, referring to them as ‘the future of the brand.’