THE ROTARY CLUB OPENS ITS DOORS TO PRODUCTION HYBRIDS

UNDER THE SKIN 

- JESSE CROSSE

MAZDA'S NEW MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV series plug-in hybrid will be the first of its kind to enter production using a rotary engine to drive the generator.

Manufacturers started tinkering with range-extended EVS way back in the dark ages (it's a relative term). Some early creations were pretty clunky and a product of the technology available at the time.

Unsurprisingly, given its predilection for quirky cars, Citroën was all over the idea. In the late 1990s, it rolled out the experimental Saxo Dynavolt with NiCad batteries topped up by a 200cc two-stroke twin. That was followed a year or so later by the Berlingo Dynavolt with a NiCad battery pack giving a range of 60 miles backed up by a 500cc twin-cylinder Lombardini four-stroke engine.

Unlike classic range extenders, the power it made was fed straight to the electric drive motor, the idea being that the vehicle would return to base at night with the battery flat and ready for an overnight plug-in charge.