This is the promised plug-in hybrid version of Mazda’s electric car, the MX-30 E-Skyactiv R-EV, writes Brian Byrne. A mouthful of a name, the car is revealed at the Brussels Motor Show today and features a rated 85km electric range, with a new rotary engine extended range petrol engine to enable longer journeys. The electric motor will power the car all the time, the rotary engine kicking in only to recharge the battery or to give additional power during sudden acceleration. The petrol tank for the engine is 50 litres, providing a potential combined range competitive to a standard petrol car. The Mazda rotary engine is based on the concept developed by German engineer Felix Wankel in the 1950s. The Japanese company produced it for a range of RX sports cars until 2012, after which it was only used in a racing championship up to 2017. A prototype rotary engine used as an EV range extender was shown in a Mazda2 in 2013.