Wankel Rotary Engine - a question for the engineers.

[mikebee]

The Norton rotary racers from the 90s were pretty effective on the track.a 588cc twin rotor pumping out enough grunt to blitz the 750 4s in British superbike racing.went to see them at knockhill.jeez the extractor exhaust was LOUD!!!!

[PhillipM]

The rotary in the buggy didn't do too badly - won the 2wd championship 3 years in a row even with a few blowups and mishaps...

[PiperCub]

Despite all the problems with them, I still want a Mazda 110S Cosmo. Sorry, I just do.

 

Overall, I think Wankels are something of a technology dead-end. Don't get me wrong, I think they are a great idea in theory and they have limited uses and admire Mazda especially for sticking with them but otherwise are a bit of a dead duck now. As others have said, they've been developing them for decades without really solving most of the inherent issues they've always had. The 'new' version to me is brave but also a dead-end, it's like making indestructable/non-wearing piston rings that never need replacing - but the block wears out instead. 

 

Also, to me, they are always Wankel engines - a rotary engine as has been explained, is a different thing being fitted to many early aircraft due to their decent power output and relative simplicity for the time (We won't go into the hideous/dangerous handling characteristics a big rotating mass caused!).

[Pete-M]

are there any other cars just shy of 300bhp stock that gives good mpg? I get 35mpg on a run - show me a V8 that can do that!

I got 35 mpg once from my old BMW 540i. On a fast run, four up, from London to Liverpool.

 

More luck than anything.

[Tamworthbay]

The Norton rotary racers from the 90s were pretty effective on the track.a 588cc twin rotor pumping out enough grunt to blitz the 750 4s in British superbike racing.went to see them at knockhill.jeez the extractor exhaust was LOUD!!!!

They were awesome but sadly the noise was the killer for the road bikes. The exhausts needed to get the sound down to road legal levels killed the performance.

[Pete-M]

[twosmoke300]

That made me smile !