wankel

The rotary rumormill continues to spin about as fast as a Renesis engine at redline (that's 9,000 rpm, for those keeping track). Might the next rotary-powered RX from Mazda be a hybrid? It very well may, if you believe a report from Motor Trend. Lending credence to the story is a 2010 agreement ...

"We will never give up," says Mitsuo Hitomi, general manager of Mazda's powertrain division, referring to the automaker's long-running investment in the rotary engine. This vote of confidence in Felix Wankel's ...

Mazda isn't the only company out there working on the next-generation rotary engine. According to China Car Times, Chery is also dabbling in Wankel technology. The company isn't so much interested in bringing non-piston love to The People's Republic so much as they are finding a more efficient way ...

It's starting to look more and more likely that the Wankel rotary engine could have a future as an electric vehicle range extender. Felix Wankel's original concept was once seen as having great potential because of its high power density compared to piston engines. Unfortunately, the ...

Back in 2006, when the Chevrolet Volt was first conceived, its extended-range electric (ER-EV) powertrain was originally dubbed E-Flex as its configuration was designed to be flexible. The only part of the system that was constant ...

At last week's Vienna Motor Symposium, FEV was on hand showing off its LiiOn-drive Fiat 500 for ride and drives. We first saw this range extended electric vehicle last year at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress in Detroit. What sets this particular RE-EV apart, is the range ...

No, Wankel is not really a verb. At least, not that we know of. But it is the last name of the man who designed the rotary engine, and we think our man Felix would be more than pleased with the latest application of his ...

Mazda's Wankel rotary engine has always been unique in the automotive landscape as a mass-produced internal combustion engine that eschews such unsightly items as pistons, valves and camshafts. The Wankel packs lots of power into a very small package, but one thing it's never been is fuel ...

There are numerous companies working on hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engines, most notably BMW with its Hydrogen7. Mazda however, is uniquely positioned to take advantage of hydrogen as a combustion fuel. They are, after all, the only manufacturer currently building Wankel rotary engines. ...

Depending on how you choose to measure it, Mazda's Wankel rotary could be as big as 2.6 liters already, but to most people, the engine has always been 1.3 liters. While the engine has never been known as a fuel-sipper, it has always been known for its excellent power-to-weight ratio. With the last ...