Little rotary that could deserves title

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/06/2003 (8323 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

JUDGING is still a year away, but I think I’ve already found my candidate for the International Engine of the Year award.

The fifty-some panel of autojournalists (of which your should-be-more-humble scribe is one of four Canadian panelists) just awarded Mazda’s new Renesis rotary engine from the newly-released RX-8 as the best engine of 2002. Though you’d think any title as ominous as International Engine of the Year would be an exercise in technical analysis, supercomputing, quantitative research and rigorous testing, I suspect that the real motivation behind the choice of Mazda’s rotary is a little nostalgia and more than a hint of rooting for the underdog.

Any one of boomer age fondly remembers the original RX-7, a lairy little beast that performed far beyond its modest specifications and price tag. It was also a rebel, all other companies eschewing the costly trials and tribulations of developing a completely unique engine just for the sake of being different. Mazda persevered for some twenty years, finally perfecting the often ornery machine just as the market for sports cars like the RX-7 dried up and sent a number of worthwhile Japanese sports cars the way of the dodo bird (from those heady days, only the Acura NSX remains).

That was what most of us thought. Mazda gave it its best shot, but the thirsty little thing’s time had come and with the economic realities of the late ’90s precluding spending money on further development of an engine with such limited usage, we bid the rotary engine what we thought was the long good-bye.

Surprised were we then when Mazda announced it was reviving the RX nameplate, albeit in a quasi four-door format. Delighted were we when we found out they’d continued development of the rotary, squeezing as much power from the normally-aspirated Renesis as the last generation turbocharged version. And at 9,000 rpm, it sounded like superbike at full chat.

That’s why Mazda won this year’s award. And why Subaru will probably get my vote next year.

Back in the early ’90s, one of my favorite cars was the company’s Turbo Legacy, an unassuming little wagon that went like stink. Then it went away and Subaru built a long line of very capable mainstream cars, all very boring indeed. We autojournalists would ask Subaru Canada’s marketing mavens why we couldn’t get any turbos. We were fed all manner of excuses from the turbo couldn’t pass emissions tests to North Americans don’t want fast Subarus.

Even when a blown Sube finally made a reappearance, it was a downgraded unit, the 227 horsepower WRX — a pale imitation of the almost 300 pony versions sold elsewhere in the world.

But salvation, though late, is here with the introduction of the 300 horsepower WRX STi. With a boost to 2.5 litres comes a new, more rigid block which means that much of the horizontal flat four’s traditional quaking is gone. Being a Subaru, it will, of course be as reliable as an anvil. And with all those ponies accompanied by 300 pounds-feet of torque, it will be faster than the aforementioned proverbial stink. Porsche Carrera and BMW M3 drivers will learn to recognize the more pronounced scoop and over-the-top rear spoiler than differentiate the STi from the garden-variety WRX.

And the same engine, albeit detuned for family sedateness now invigorates the new Forester XT. Two hundred and ten horsepower means the little square Forester can keep up with the Porsche Cayenne S and blow past the Mercedes ML500.

Autojournalists, like the rest of the world, love an underdog. Especially one making a comeback. Look for Subaru to be a contender next year.

By the way, the International Engine of the Year awards are organized by Engine Technology International, a publication that contains no advertising or receives any financial support from any car manufacturer. Kudos to awards chairman Graham Johnson.

David Booth is editor of Autovision Magazine and a regular contributor to Automotive Showcase.