Since the recent demise of the RX-8, Mazda no longer offers any form of rotary engine in the U.S., though the manufacturer has maintained that the Wankel is the heart of the brand. Recently, the company reiterated that point, and quite specifically, when talking to Car and Driver. During a conversation with Mazda U.S. operations chief Robert Davis, a whole host of zoom-zoom-related news and strategy popped up -- much of it quite promising for fans of the badge.

First, it looks as if the rotary will re-emerge not only for gas-powered machines, but also in applications where it drives an electric generator. The Skyactiv suite of engineering breakthroughs would be applied to the rotary in the form of less internal friction, reduced rotating mass and more-efficient transmissions, and the article goes on to note that the "smoothness of a rotary and its low weight are advantages for [the hybrid] role, while its relative lack of torque wouldn’t be a problem."

The further development of the rotary, as well as a number of boosted four cylinders, comes at the expense of the V6: while the Mazda6 and CX-9 currently offer 6-cylinder mills, future models will most likely come equipped as 4-bangers, Davis said.

Davis also noted that the new CX-5, more fuel- and space-efficient than the now-discontinued-for​-the-U.S.-market CX-7, was originally meant to replace the latter vehicle. Due to an overlap in production contracts, that turned out not to be the case, which C/D says means that "for the foreseeable future, Mazda will have a size-four gap between the CX-5 and CX-9."

That sums up the gist of the information, though there's an interesting bit of speculation as to what a new Miata may look like (non-hint: Davis mostly tries to dodge these questions). You can read David Gluckman's full piece here.