LET’ S GO ROUND AGAIN
Only Mazda has ever committed to the rotary engine with any conviction. As a result, this quirky motor has gained a small and cult-like following. But now it has a new life, one that’ s perfectly aligned with current attitudes and legislation. Is it time for the Wankel rotary to go mainstream?
Should we admire Mazda for its continued use of the rotary engine? Or is adding it to regular passenger cars, performance cars, turbocharging it and racing with it, all the literal definition of insanity,‘ doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results’? Mazda has now added another use to its rotary motor’ s resumé, that of an electric generator. Given that no one else has adopted the technology, is this bold or bonkers?
The origin of the rotary can be traced back to 1951 when an engineer working for NSU Motorenwerke, Felix Wankel, started to develop a whole new type of internal combustion engine. NSU would later be acquired by the Volkswagen Group and it was merged with Auto Union to create Audi.
34 The Engine Rebuilder Issue 03