They are a big player in the motor industry but Mazda’s latest engine could be a step back. The Japanese company, Mazda seemingly wanted something bigger and better after hydrogen, but this is a failure. We take a closer look at the car that is influenced by Skyactiv technology.
Japan’s carmaker flops with latest engine
Trading in global markets as Mazda Motor Corporation, the Japanese car manufacturer is still planning to continue investing in internal combustion. Mazda announced that it’s busy developing a new gas-powered four-cylinder engine that will introduce the latest Skyactiv technology.
Referred to as Skyactiv-Z, the engine will eventually replace the Skyactiv-X engines that are sold abroad as well as the Skyactiv-G engines that are sold in North America.
The company discreetly circulated the images in August and that was in line with their presentation on its quarterly financial results – reports caranddriver.com.
Mazda says the new Skyactiv-Z engine will be significantly more efficient to meet tightening emission regulations, such as the CARB-approved LEV IV standards in the United States.
“Mazda’s engine will use the Lambda 1 air-fuel ratio, which is a perfectly balanced mixture throughout the entire rev range that helps reduce tailpipe emissions at full power,” says the publication.
“Mazda didn’t reveal any other technical details about the new four-cylinder engine. We don’t know how much power it will have or if it will be turbocharged.”
At the same time, Mazda didn’t reveal what models the engine will be available on, but the carmaker said the engine will be launched or unveiled in a space of two years.
Mazda plans to eventually expand the Skyactiv-Z technology to its inline-six engine too.
Mazda working on a new rotary engine
Alongside rivals such as Toyota and Subaru, Mazda is known to be still working on a new rotary engine. That information came to the fore at the beginning of 2024 when Mazda announced, together with Toyota and Subaru, that the trio is collaborating on next-gen engines.
For Mazda’s part, it’s working on rotary EV systems featuring either one or two rotors but there’s no timetable for when development will be completed, yet the Japanese company said it’s “making good progress.”
Mazda to discontinue with Skyactiv-X and G
Mazda clearly aims to ultimately discontinue both Skyactiv-G and X while replacing them with Skyactiv-Z, but is the four-cylinder mill a step forward?
Lessons learned during development are set to help the Zoom-Zoom company improve the larger six-cylinder engines as well by making the inline-sixes run cleaner.
However, it announced that the four-pot will utilize the lambda one combustion method to “achieve high thermal efficiency by realizing super lean burn combustion over a wide range from low to high rpm, to provide excellent environmental performance and driving performance.”
To achieve this, Mazda intends to utilize Skyactiv-Z initially in cars sold in both Europe and the United States – the dedicated engineers are hard at work to make the four-pot unit comply with Euro 7 regulations as well as EPA’s Tier 4 standards.
In addition, the Japanese car brand also wants to streamline its engine offerings by focusing on fewer powertrains. As for the rotary engine, Mazda is “making smooth progress” after reinstating the dedicated team back in February.
“The development of emission compliance for the rotary engine is very challenging, but we are making good progress.”
Speculation is rife on Mazda’s engine
Motor1 is speculating that since the next MX-5 will still have a combustion engine (even though Skyactiv-G is gone), it could mean the fifth-gen Miata will be powered by a Skyactiv-Z engine.
Since the first cars with this engine won’t come out until 2027, Mazda is tight-lipped for now.