Forgotten Cars: The Mazda Millenia And Mazda's Other Other Engine - Jalopnik
Welcome to Forgotten Cars, a new feature I'm trying out where we highlight fascinating cars and engines that are obscure, unrecognized and lost to the passage of time. But while we can all agree that the rotary is great, it's not the only unusual engine to sign up for a tour of duty in a Mazda. There was also the company's Miller Cycle V6 engine from the Mazda Millenia, but nobody remembers that. See, the Millenia wasn't just the replacement for the rear-wheel-drive flagship 929, it was meant to be one of the first models for the luxury brand "Amati" that Mazda attempted to pull off in the early 1990s. This attempt to compete with Lexus... In spite of this, the Millenia itself — known as the Xedos 9 and Eunos 800 in other markets — had some pretty special features, including an excellent chassis and a Japan-only four-wheel-steering system that made it a potent handler. But what was truly special was what was under the hood of the Millenia S — Mazda's KJ-ZEM 2. 3-liter supercharged Miller Cycle V6 putting out 210 horsepower. The Miller cycle is a modification of the traditional four-stroke Otto cycle process, except that the intake valve is left open longer than it would be on a normal engine, aided by a twin-screw supercharger. Source: jalopnik.com
