At the end of the 1960s, the Wankel engine seemed to be the engine of the future, but that was short-lived. Only Mazda continued to believe in it… until 2012, when the RX-8 disappeared. But the Mazda MX-30 R-EV shows that the Japanese have not lost their faith after all. Every reason to pick up some shaky facts.
1. ‘Ottomotor unnecessarily cumbersome’
Felix Wankel (1902-1988) was only 17 years old when he realized that the up and down movement of pistons and connecting rods in a traditional four-stroke engine – also called an Otto engine – was unnecessarily cumbersome. Especially because the crankshaft must be converted back into a rotating movement.
2. Turn only
An engine that would go through its four operating phases while running seemed more efficient to Wankel. Moreover, such an engine could be much more compact and contain far fewer parts. Wankel went to work…
3. Collaboration Felix Wankel and NSU
The first single-disc Wankel engine became operational in the 1950s. Thanks to Wankel’s contact with the development chief of engine and car manufacturer NSU, the engine can be tested in NSU racing engines.
4. First car with a Wankel engine
After an endurance test phase in a converted NSU Prinz, Wankel and NSU found the engine ready for its market debut in a car in 1957. NSU installed a single-disc Wankel engine in the fastest version of the Prinz Spider.
5. Car manufacturers in line for ‘engine of the future’
NSU and Felix Wankel entered into an agreement, which meant that Wankel would receive 40 percent of all licensing agreements. That did him no harm, because the car manufacturers were queuing up for his invention – ‘the engine of the future’. Not just Mazda, but also MercedesGeneral Motors and Lemon.
6. NSU Ro 80 and Mazda Cosmo
The most famous car with a Wankel engine is undoubtedly the NSU Ro 80, which won Car of the Year in 1967. It had a two-disc Wankel engine, just like the Mazda Cosmo Sport from the same year.
7. 30,000 km warranty
NSU gave a 30,000 km warranty on the engine of the Ro 80, which was unique at the time. It ultimately cost the company its life, because NSU ended up paying for the warranty costs due to faulty engine seals.
8. Wankel engine renamed rotary engine
Partly because of the bad name the Ro80 gave the Wankel engine, Mazda renamed it the ‘rotary engine’.
9. Futuristic Mercedes with Wankel engine
Mercedes installed a Wankel engine in the study model C111 (1969). But as early as 1971 the manufacturer pulled the plug on the development of the engine; we simply couldn’t make it last more than 100,000 km.
10. Citroën loses millions on shaky project
Citroën held out hope longer than Mercedes. After an extensive test phase with the M35 (an Ami 8 Coupé), it took the GS Birotor into production in 1973. Only 847 were sold. The failed staggered project cost Citroën many millions.
11. Ladas with rotary engines for police and KGB
Even Lada joined the teeter-totter commotion and built ordinary-looking models with a twin-disc rotary engine for the police and the KGB. The last staggered Lada was a Samara that reached a top speed of 190 km/h. In 2001, the Russians also had enough.
12. Two million rotary engine Mazdas
Mazda initially lasted until 2012, producing around two million cars with a Wankel…er…rotary engine. The last – until the introduction of the MX-30 R-EV in 2023 – was the RX-8. Like its modern successor, the four-door sports car had suicide doors at the rear.
13. Successful RX-7
The most successful rotational Mazda was RX-7, of which three generations were released. The latest edition (with double turbo!) also had its share of successes on the circuit.
14. Dutch motorcycle with Wankel engine
The Dutch motorcycle brand Van Veen introduced the OCR 1000 in 1977. The Wankel engine of the very expensive machine came from Comotor, a subsidiary of Audi-NSU and Citroën.
