The Mazda rotary engine might be dead for now, a victim of emissions regulations and straitened economic times, but the Japanese company hasn't given up on its quirky tech just yet.
It looks like we'll have to wait a while for it, however. Mazda has been working on a successor to the RX-8's engine, dubbed the Renesis 16X, since 2007, but with no successor to the RX-8 and plenty of technical challenges to overcome, this new engine isn't likely to find a home before 2017.
Part of the solution will be a radical new ignition system, using powerful yet tiny (11mm) lasers in place of traditional spark plugs. A laser ignition system will, it is claimed, be more fuel-efficient, since it can be run leaner and the timing of the ignition can be timed more finely.
All of which sounds most interesting - it's just a shame we'll have to wait so long to see it. Mind you, 2017 is an apt moment for the rotary motor's reappearance - it will mark 50 years since the Wankel Rotary system made its debut in the NSU Ro80.