Wankel engine

{{Short description|Combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design}}

{{About|a particular pistonless rotary engine|other pistonless rotary engines|pistonless rotary engine|piston designs arranged in a rotary configuration|rotary engine}}

[[File:Wankel Cycle anim en.gif|right|frame|'''Figure 1.''' The Wankel KKM cycle: {{bulleted list |'''A''': Apex of the rotor.|'''B''': The eccentric shaft.|The white portion is the lobe of the eccentric shaft.|The distance between A & B remains constant.|Produces three power pulses each revolution of the rotor.|Gives one power pulse per revolution of the output shaft.}}]]

The '''Wankel engine''' ({{IPA|ˈvaŋkəl̩}}, {{respell|Vann|KELL}}) is a type of [[internal combustion engine]] using an [[Eccentric (mechanism)|eccentric]] [[rotary combustion engine|rotary design]] to convert pressure into rotating motion. It was invented by German engineer [[Felix Wankel]], and designed by German engineer [[Hanns-Dieter Paschke]]. The Wankel engine's rotor, which creates the turning motion, is similar in shape to a [[Reuleaux triangle]], with the sides having less curvature. The rotor rotates inside an oval-like [[epitrochoid]]al housing, around a central output shaft. The rotor spins in a hula-hoop fashion around the central output shaft, spinning the shaft via toothed gearing.

Due to its inherent poor thermodynamics, the Wankel engine has a significantly worse thermal efficiency and worse exhaust gas behaviour when compared against the Otto engine or the Diesel engine, which is why the Wankel engine has seen limited use since its introduction in the 1960s. However, its advantages of compact design, smoothness, lower weight, and fewer parts over the reciprocating [[piston engine|piston]] internal combustion engines make the Wankel engine suited for applications such as [[chainsaw]]s, [[auxiliary power unit]]s, [[loitering munition]]s, [[aircraft]], [[personal water craft|jet skis]], [[snowmobile]]s, and [[range extender|range extenders in cars]]. In the past, the Wankel engine has also been used in road vehicles such as [[motorcycle]]s, and [[racing car]]s.

==Concept==

[[File:DrehkolbenmotorDKM54.JPG|thumb|'''Figure 2.''' The first DKM Wankel engine designed by [[Felix Wankel]], the DKM 54 (''Drehkolbenmotor''), at the Deutsches Museum in [[Bonn]]]]

[[File:Wankel-1.jpg|thumb|left|'''Figure 3.''' A Wankel engine with its rotor and geared output shaft]]

[[File:Wankelmotor-KKM57P.jpg|thumb|left|'''Figure 5.''' The first KKM Wankel Engine based on a design by Hanns-Dieter Paschke, the [[NSU Motorenwerke|NSU]] KKM 57P (''Kreiskolbenmotor''), at Autovision und Forum]]

[[File:NSU-Spider-Motorraum.jpg|thumb|'''Figure 6.''' First production Wankel engine; installed in an NSU Spider]]

The Wankel engine is a type of rotary piston engine and exists in two basic forms, the '''''Drehkolbenmotor''''' (DKM, "rotary piston engine"), designed by Felix Wankel (see Figure 2.) and the '''''Kreiskolbenmotor''''' (KKM, "circuitous piston engine"), designed by Hanns-Dieter Paschke<ref name="Norbye 1971 p. 357">{{cite book | last=Norbye | first=J.P. | title=The Wankel Engine: Design, Development, Applications | publisher=Chilton | year=1971 | isbn=978-0-8019-5591-4 | page=357}}</ref> (see Figure 3.), of which only the latter has left the prototype stage. Thus, all production Wankel engines are of the KKM type.

*In a '''DKM engine''', there are two rotors: the inner, trochoid-shaped rotor, and the outer rotor, which has an outer circular shape, and an inner figure eight shape. The center shaft is stationary, and torque is taken off the outer rotor, which is geared to the inner rotor.<ref name="Hege 2015 p. 56">{{cite book | last=Hege | first=J.B. | title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History | publisher=McFarland | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-7864-8658-8 | page=56}}</ref>

*In a '''KKM engine''', the outer rotor is part of the stationary housing (and thus not a moving part). The inner shaft is a moving part and has an eccentric lobe for the inner rotor to spin around. The rotor spins around its own center, and around the axis of the eccentric shaft in a hula hoop fashion, resulting in the rotor making one complete revolution for every three revolutions of the eccentric shaft. In the KKM engine, torque is taken off the eccentric shaft,<ref name="Hege 2015 p. 53">{{cite book | last=Hege | first=J.B. | title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History | publisher=McFarland | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-7864-8658-8 | page=53}}</ref> making it a much simpler design to be adopted to conventional powertrains.<ref name="Hege 2015 p. 54">{{cite book | last=Hege | first=J.B. | title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History |publisher=McFarland | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-7864-8658-8 | page=54}}</ref>

==Wankel engine development==

[[Felix Wankel]] designed a rotary compressor in the 1920s, and received his first patent for a rotary type of engine in 1934.<ref name="Hege 2015 p. 31">{{cite book | last=Hege | first=J.B. | title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History | publisher=McFarland | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-7864-8658-8 | page=31}}</ref> He realized that the triangular rotor of the rotary compressor could have intake and exhaust ports added producing an internal combustion engine. Eventually, in 1951, Wankel began working at German firm [[NSU Motorenwerke]] to design a rotary compressor as a [[supercharger]] for NSU's motorcycle engines. Wankel conceived the design of a triangular rotor in the compressor.<ref name="Hege 2015 p. 43">{{cite book | last=Hege | first=J.B. | title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History | publisher=McFarland | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-7864-8658-8 | page=43}}</ref> With the assistance of Prof. {{ill|Othmar Baier|de}} from Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences, the concept was defined mathematically.<ref name="Hege 2015 p. 44">{{cite book | last=Hege | first=J.B. | title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History | publisher=McFarland | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-7864-8658-8 | page=44}}</ref> The supercharger he designed was used for one of NSU's 50 cm³ one-cylinder two-stroke engines. The engine produced a power output of {{cvt|13.5|PS|kW|0}} at 12,000{{nbsp}}rpm.<ref name="Dieter Korp 1975 p. 62-63">{{cite book | last=Korp | first=Dieter | title=Protokoll einer Erfindung | publisher=Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart| series= | year=1975 | isbn=3-87943-381-X | page=62-63}}</ref>

In 1954, NSU agreed upon developing a rotary internal combustion engine with Felix Wankel, based upon Wankel's design of the supercharger for their motorcycle engines. Since Wankel was known as a "difficult colleague", the development work for the DKM was carried out at Wankel's private Lindau design bureau. According to John B. Hege, Wankel received help from his friend Ernst Höppner, who was a "brilliant engineer".<ref name="Hege 2015 p. 48">{{cite book | last=Hege | first=J.B. | title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History | publisher=McFarland | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-7864-8658-8 | page=48}}</ref> The first working prototype, DKM 54 (see figure 2.), first ran on 1 February 1957, at the NSU research and development department ''Versuchsabteilung TX''. It produced {{convert|21|PS|abbr=on}}.<ref name="JhYt4Sa">{{cite magazine |title=The Rotary Club |first=Don |last=Sherman |magazine=Automobile Magazine |date=February 2008 |pages=76–79}}</ref><ref name="NdA81">{{cite news| url= http://www.spiegel.de/auto/aktuell/0,1518,459789,00.html |title=Wankel-Jubiläum: Warten aufs Wunder |first=Jürgen |last=Pander |language=de |publisher=Der Spiegel Online |date=2007-01-21|access-date=2018-05-05|newspaper=Spiegel Online}}</ref> Soon thereafter, a second prototype of the DKM was built. It had a working chamber volume Vk of 125 cm³ and also produced {{cvt|21|kW|PS|0}} at 17,000{{nbsp}}rpm.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 56">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=56}}</ref> It could even reach speeds of up to 25,000{{nbsp}}rpm. However, these engine speeds caused distortion in the outer rotor's shape, thus proving impractical.<ref name="Hege 2015 p. 52">{{cite book | last=Hege | first=J.B. | title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History | publisher=McFarland | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-7864-8658-8 | page=52}}</ref> According to [[Mazda Motor|Mazda Motors]] engineers and historians, four units of the DKM engine were built; the design is described to have a displacement Vh of 250 cm³ (equivalent to a working chamber volume Vk of 125 cm³). The fourth unit built is said to have received several design changes, and eventually produced {{cvt|29|PS|kW|0}} at 17,000/min; it could reach speeds up to 22,000/min. One of the four engines built has been on static display at the [[Deutsches Museum Bonn]] (see figure. 2).<ref name="Basshuysen Schäfer Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden 2017 p. 484">{{cite book | last1=Basshuysen | first1=Richard van | last2=Schäfer | first2=Fred | author3=Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden | title=Handbuch Verbrennungsmotor Grundlagen, Komponenten, Systeme, Perspektiven | publication-place=Wiesbaden | date=2017 | isbn=978-3-658-10901-1 | oclc=979563571 | language=de | page=484}}</ref>

Due to its complicated design with a stationary center shaft, the DKM engine was not practical.<ref name="Hege 2015 p. 53" /> {{ill|Wolf-Dieter Bensinger|de}} explicitly mentions that proper engine cooling cannot be achieved in a DKM engine, and argues that this is the reason why the DKM design had to be abandoned.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 54">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=54}}</ref> NSU engineer Walter Froede solved this problem by using Hanns-Dieter Paschke's design and converting the DKM into what would later be known as the KKM (see figure 5.).<ref name="Hege 2015 p. 53">{{cite book | last=Hege | first=J.B. | title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History | publisher=McFarland | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-7864-8658-8 | page=53}}</ref> The KKM proved to be a much more practical engine, as it has easily accessible spark plugs, a simpler cooling design, and a conventional power take-off shaft.<ref name="Hege 2015 p. 54"/> Wankel disliked Froede's KKM engine because of its inner rotor's eccentric motion, which was not a pure circular motion, as Wankel had intended. He remarked that his "race horse" was turned into a "plough horse". Wankel also complained that more stresses would be placed on the KKM's apex seals due to the eccentric hula-hoop motion of the rotor. NSU could not afford to finance the development of both the DKM and the KKM, and eventually decided to drop the DKM in favor of the KKM, because the latter seemed to be the more practical design.<ref name="Hege 2015 p. 57">{{cite book | last=Hege | first=J.B. | title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History | publisher=McFarland | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-7864-8658-8 | page=57}}</ref>

Wankel obtained the US patent 2,988,065 on the KKM engine on 13 June 1961.<ref>{{cite book | last=Hege | first=J.B. | title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History | publisher=McFarland | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-7864-8658-8 | page=65}}</ref> Throughout the design phase of the KKM, Froede's engineering team had to solve problems such as repeated bearing seizures, the oil flow inside the engine, and the engine cooling.<ref>{{cite book | last=Hege | first=J.B. | title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History | publisher=McFarland | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-7864-8658-8 | page=66}}</ref> The first fully functioning KKM engine, the KKM 125, weighing in at only {{cvt|17|kg|lb|1}} displaced 125 cm³ and produced {{cvt|26|PS|kW|0}} at 11,000{{nbsp}}rpm.<ref>{{cite book | last=Hege | first=J.B. | title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History | publisher=McFarland | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-7864-8658-8 | page=67}}</ref> Its first run was on 1 July 1958.<ref name="Faith 1975 p. 45">{{cite book | last=Faith | first=N. | title=Wankel: The Curious Story Behind the Revolutionary Rotary Engine | publisher=Stein and Day | year=1975 | isbn=978-0-8128-1719-5 | page=45}}</ref>

In 1963, NSU produced the first series-production Wankel engine for a car, the KKM 502 (see figure 6.). It was used in the [[NSU Spider]] sports car, of which about 2,000 were made. Despite its "teething troubles", the KKM 502 was a quite powerful engine with decent potential, smooth operation, and low noise emissions at high engine speeds. It was a single-rotor PP engine with a displacement of {{cvt|996|cm3|in3|0}}, a rated power of {{cvt|40|kW|hp|0}} at 6,000{{nbsp}}rpm and a [[Mean effective pressure|BMEP]] of {{cvt|1|MPa|lb/in2|0}}.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 127-131">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | pages=127–131}}</ref>

==Operation and design==

[[File:Wankel engine diagram.svg|249px|left|thumb|'''Figure 7.''' Schematic of the Wankel: {{ordered list

| list_style=margin:0;

| item_style=list-style-position:inside;

| Intake

| Exhaust

| Stator housing

| Chambers

| Pinion

| Rotor

| Crown gear

| Eccentric shaft

| Spark plug.

}}]]

[[File:Wankel Cycle (vector).svg|right|thumb|249px|'''Figure 8.''' The Rotary Cycle:{{ordered list

| list_style=margin:0;

| item_style=list-style-position:inside;

| Intake (blue)

| Compression (green)

| Ignition (red)

| exhaust (yellow)

}}]]

[[File:Wankel3.ogv|left|258px|'''Figure 9.''' Video of a two rotor Wankel engine]]

The Wankel engine has a spinning eccentric power take-off shaft, with a rotary piston riding on [[eccentric (mechanism)|eccentrics]] on the shaft in a hula-hoop fashion. The Wankel is a 2:3 type of rotary engine, i.e., two-thirds of its ideal total geometrical volume can be attributed to displacement. Thus, its housing's inner side resembles an oval-like [[epitrochoid]], whereas its rotary piston has a trochoid (triangular) shape (similar to a [[Reuleaux triangle]]), and the Wankel engine's rotor always forms three moving working chambers.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 55">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=55}}</ref> The Wankel engine's basic geometry is depicted in figure 7. Seals at the apices of the rotor seal against the periphery of the housing.<ref name="Columbia" /> The rotor moves in its rotating motion guided by gears and the eccentric output shaft, not being guided by the external chamber. The rotor does not make contact with the external engine housing. The force of expanded gas pressure on the rotor exerts pressure on the center of the eccentric part of the output shaft.

All practical Wankel engines are four-cycle (i.e., four-stroke) engines. In theory, two-cycle engines are possible, but they are impractical because the intake gas and the exhaust gas cannot be properly separated.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 54">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=54}}</ref> The operating principle is similar to the Otto operating principle; the Diesel operating principle with its [[Compression-ignition engine|compression ignition]] cannot be used in a practical Wankel engine.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 86">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=86}}</ref> Therefore, Wankel engines typically have a high-voltage [[Spark-ignition engine|spark ignition]] system.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 124">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=124}}</ref>

In a Wankel engine, one side of the triangular rotor completes the four-stage [[Otto cycle]] of intake, compression, ignition, and exhaust each revolution of the rotor (see figure 8.).<ref name="oGY5n">{{cite web|url= http://www.der-wankelmotor.de/Techniklexikon/techniklexikon.html |title=Techniklexikon|first=Html; Kurt|last=Heintz |website=der-wankelmotor.de}}</ref> The shape of the rotor between the fixed apexes is to minimize the volume of the geometric [[combustion chamber]] and maximize the [[compression ratio]], respectively.<ref name="Columbia">{{cite web|title=Internal-combustion engine |publisher=Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia |year=2008|url= http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/internal-combustion_engine.aspx#1 |access-date=2011-01-04}}</ref><ref name="61ckr">For a detailed calculation of the curvature of a circular arc approximating the optimal Wankel rotor shape, see {{cite journal |last1=Badr |first1= O. |last2= Naik |first2= S. |last3=O'Callaghan |first3=P.W. |last4= Probert |first4=S.D. |doi=10.1016/0306-2619(91)90063-4 |issue=1 |journal=Applied Energy |pages=59–76 | title= Rotary Wankel engines as expansion devices in steam Rankine-cycle engines |volume=39 |year=1991}}</ref> As the rotor has three sides, this gives three power pulses per revolution of the rotor. All three faces of the Wankel's rotor operate simultaneously in one revolution. As the output shaft uses toothed gearing to turn three times faster than the rotor, one power pulse is produced at each revolution of the shaft. For comparison, the four-stroke piston engine completes the Otto cycle in two revolutions of its output shaft (crankshaft). The Wankel thus produces twice as many power pulses per output shaft revolution.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 65" />

Wankel engines have a much lower degree of irregularity when compared to a reciprocating piston engine, making the Wankel engine run much smoother. This is because the Wankel engine has a lower moment of inertia and less excess torque area due to its more uniform torque delivery. For instance, a two-rotor Wankel engine runs more than twice as smoothly as a four-cylinder piston engine.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 72">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=72}}</ref> The eccentric output shaft of a Wankel engine also does not have the stress-related contours of a reciprocating piston engine's crankshaft. The maximum revolutions of a Wankel engine are thus mainly limited by tooth load on the synchronizing gears.<ref name="YLcmp">Kenichi Yamamoto: Rotary Engine, 1981, 3. 3. 2, Fig. 3.17 page -25-</ref> Hardened steel gears are used for extended operation above 7,000 or 8,000{{nbsp}}rpm. In practice, automotive Wankel engines are not operated at much higher output shaft speeds than reciprocating piston engines of similar output power. Wankel engines in auto racing are operated at speeds up to 10,000{{nbsp}}rpm, but so are four-stroke reciprocating piston engines with relatively small displacement per cylinder. In aircraft, they are used conservatively, up to 6500 or 7500{{nbsp}}rpm.

== Chamber volume and displacement ==

=== Chamber volume ===

In a Wankel rotary engine, the chamber volume <math>V_k</math> is equivalent to the product of the rotor surface <math>A_k</math> and the rotor path <math>s</math>. The rotor surface <math>A_k</math> is given by the rotor tips' path across the rotor housing and determined by the generating radius <math>R</math>, the rotor width <math>B</math>, and the parallel transfers of the rotor and the inner housing <math>a</math>. Since the rotor has a trochoid ("triangular") shape, sinus 60 degrees describes the interval at which the rotors get closest to the rotor housing. Therefore,

<math>A_k=2 \cdot B \cdot (R+a) \cdot sin (60^\circ) = \sqrt 3 \cdot B \cdot (R+a)</math><ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 64">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=64}}</ref>

The rotor path <math>s</math> may be integrated via the eccentricity <math>e</math> as follows:

:<math>\sum \, ds= \int_{\alpha= 0^{\circ}}^{\alpha=270^{\circ}} e \cdot sin \frac {2} 3 \alpha \, d \alpha = 3e</math>

Therefore,

:<math>V_k= A_k \cdot s = \sqrt 3 \cdot B \cdot (R+a) \cdot 3e</math><ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 65" />

For convenience, <math>a</math> may be omitted because it is difficult to determine and small:<ref name="Yamamoto 1981 p. 15" />

<math>V_k= \sqrt 3 \cdot B \cdot R \cdot 3e</math><ref name="Yamamoto 1981 p. 15" /><ref name="Corbat Pawlowski 1973 p. 8">{{cite book | last1=Corbat | first1=Jean Pierre | last2=Pawlowski | first2=Uwe L. | title=Kreiskolbenmotoren des Systems NSU-Wankel ihre Berechnung und Auslegung | publication-place=Basel | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-0348-5974-5 | oclc=913700185 | language=de-CH | page=8 |quote=Formula 56 with k=R/e}}</ref><ref name="Bender Göhlich Springer-Verlag GmbH 2019 p. 126">{{cite book | last1=Bender | first1=Beate | last2=Göhlich | first2=Dietmar |publisher=Springer-Verlag | title=Dubbel Taschenbuch für den Maschinenbau Band 3. | publication-place=Berlin | date=2019 | isbn=978-3-662-59714-9 | oclc=1105131471 | language=de | page=126}}</ref><ref name="Ansdale Keller 1971 p. 79">{{cite book | last1=Ansdale | first1=R.F. | last2=Keller | first2=H. | title=Der Wankelmotor: Konstruktion und Wirkungsweise | publication-place=Stuttgart| publisher=Motorbuch-Verlag | year=1971 | language=de | page=79 formula 6.13}}</ref><ref name="v Manteuffel 1971 pp. 74">{{cite book | last=v Manteuffel | first=P. | title=Mechanical Prime Movers | chapter=Rotary Piston Engines | publisher=Macmillan | publication-place=London | year=1971 | isbn=978-1-349-01184-1 | doi=10.1007/978-1-349-01182-7_6 | pages=74}}</ref>

A different approach to this is introducing <math>a'</math> as the farthest, and <math>a</math> as the shortest parallel transfer of the rotor and the inner housing and assuming that <math>R_1=R+a</math> and <math>R_2=R+a'</math>. Then,

:<math>V_k= \sqrt 3 \cdot B \cdot (2 \cdot R_1+R_2) \cdot e</math>

Including the parallel transfers of the rotor and the inner housing provides sufficient accuracy for determining chamber volume.<ref name="Yamamoto 1981 p. 15">{{cite book | last=Yamamoto | first=K. | title=Rotary Engine | publisher=Sankaido | year=1981 | isbn=978-99973-41-17-4 | page=15 |quote=Formula 2.27 and 2.30; Yamamoto uses Vh for Vk. In this article, Vk is used for convenience}}</ref><ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 65" />

=== Displacement ===

In a Wankel rotary engine, the eccentric shaft needs to make three full rotations (1080°) per combustion chamber in order to complete all four cycles of a four-cycle engine. Since a Wankel rotary engine has three combustion chambers, all four cycles of a four-cycle engine are completed within one full rotation of the eccentric shaft (360°).<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 65">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=65}}</ref><ref name="Okimoto 2002 pp. 810">{{cite journal | last=Okimoto | first=Haruo | title=Der Rotationskolbenmotor Renesis | journal=MTZ - Motortechnische Zeitschrift | publisher=Springer | volume=63 | issue=10 | year=2002 | issn=0024-8525 | doi=10.1007/bf03226650 | pages=810 | language=de}}    {{cite journal | last=Okimoto | first=Haruo | title=The Renesis rotary engine | journal=MTZ Worldwide | publisher=Springer | volume=63 | issue=10 | year=2002 | issn=2192-9114 | doi=10.1007/bf03227573 | pages=8}}</ref> This is different from a four cycle piston engine, which needs to make two full rotations per combustion chamber in order to complete all four cycles of a four cycle engine. Therefore, in a Wankel rotary engine, the chamber volume has to be doubled in order to obtain the displacement <math>V_h</math>:

:<math>V_h=2 \cdot V_k \cdot i</math>,

with <math>i</math> being the number of rotors per engine. The Wankel rotary engine's displacement <math>V_h</math> is equivalent to a four strokepiston engine's displacement <math>V_h</math>.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 66">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=66}}</ref><ref name="Ansdale Keller 1971 p. 82–83">{{cite book | last1=Ansdale | first1=R.F. | last2=Keller | first2=H. | title=Der Wankelmotor: Konstruktion und Wirkungsweise | publication-place=Stuttgart| publisher=Motorbuch-Verlag | year=1971 | language=de | pages=82–83}}</ref>

=== Examples ===

;KKM 612 ([[NSU Ro80]])

*e=14 mm

*R=100 mm

*a=2 mm

*B=67 mm

*i=2

:<math>V_k = \sqrt 3 \cdot 67 \, mm \cdot (100 + 2 \, mm) \cdot 3 \cdot \, 14 \, mm \approx 498,000 \, mm^3 = 498 \, cm^3</math>

<math>V_h = 2 \cdot 498 \, cm^3 \cdot 2 = 1,992 \ cm^3</math><ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 133">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=133}}</ref><ref name="Dobler 2000 pp. 440–442" />

;Mazda 13B-REW ([[Mazda RX-7]])

*e=15 mm

*R=103 mm

*a=2 mm

*B=80 mm

*i=2

:<math>V_k = \sqrt 3 \cdot 80 \, mm \cdot (103+2 \, mm) \cdot 3 \cdot \, 15 \, mm \approx 654,000 \, mm^3 = 654 \, cm^3</math>

<math>V_h = 2 \cdot 654 \, cm^3 \cdot 2 = 2,616 \ cm^3</math><ref name="Dobler 2000 pp. 440–442">{{cite journal | last=Dobler | first=Helmut | title=Renesis — ein neuer Wankelmotor von Mazda | journal=MTZ - Motortechnische Zeitschrift | publisher=Springer | volume=61 | issue=7–8 | year=2000 | issn=0024-8525 | doi=10.1007/bf03226583 | pages=440–442 | language=de}}</ref>

==Licenses issued==

[[File:Mazda rotary engine early.jpg|thumb|right|'''Figure 10.''' [[Mazda]]'s first Wankel engine, precursor to the 10A, at the Mazda Museum in [[Hiroshima, Japan]]]]

[[File:1974 GM Rotory engine.jpg|thumb|right|upright|'''Figure 11.''' A 1972 General-Motors–developed Wankel engine cutaway showing twin rotors]]

NSU licensed the Wankel engine's design to companies around the world, in various different forms, with many companies implementing continual improvements. In his 1973 book ''Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren'', German engineer Wolf-Dieter Bensinger describes the following licensees, in chronological order, which is confirmed by John B. Hege:<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 58">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=58}}</ref><ref name="Hege 2006 p. 118">{{cite book | last=Hege | first=John B. | title=The Wankel rotary engine: a history | publisher=McFarland | publication-place=Jefferson, N.C. | date=2006 | isbn=978-0-7864-2905-9 | oclc=123964823 | page=118}}</ref>

[[Curtiss-Wright]]: All types of engines, both air- and water-cooled, {{cvt|100-1000|PS|0}}, from 1958;<ref name="C9Nvu">{{cite magazine |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=99sDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA96 |title=Revolutionary Engine |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=April 1960 |volume=113 |issue=4 |pages=96–97, 258 |access-date=2018-05-05}}</ref> license sold to [[Deere & Company]] in 1984<ref name="Hege 2006 p. 208">{{cite book | last=Hege | first=John B. | title=The Wankel rotary engine : a history | publisher=McFarland | publication-place=Jefferson, N.C. | date=2006 | isbn=978-0-7864-2905-9 | oclc=123964823 | page=208}}</ref>

[[Fichtel & Sachs]]: Industrial and marine engines, {{cvt|0.5-30|PS|0}}, from 1960

[[Yanmar Diesel]]: Marine engines up to {{cvt|100|PS|0}}, and engines running on [[diesel fuel]] up to {{cvt|300|PS|0}}, from 1961

[[Toyo Kogyo|Toyo Kogyo (Mazda)]]: Motor vehicle engines up to {{cvt|200|PS|0}}, from 1961

[[Perkins Engines]]: All types of engines, up to {{cvt|250|PS|0}}, from 1961 until <1972

*[[Deutz AG|Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz]]: Engines running on diesel fuel; development abandoned by 1972

[[Daimler Benz]]: All types of engines from {{cvt|50|PS|0}}, from 1961

*[[MAN SE|MAN]]: Engines running on diesel fuel; development abandoned by 1972

*[[Krupp]]: Engines running on diesel fuel; development abandoned by 1972

[[Hanomag|Rheinstahl-Hanomag]]: Petrol engines, {{cvt|40-200|PS|0}}, from 1963; by 1972 taken over by Daimler-Benz

[[Alfa Romeo]]: Motor vehicle engines, {{cvt|50-300|PS|0}}, from 1964

[[Rolls-Royce]]: Engines for diesel fuel or multifuel operation, {{cvt|100-850|PS|0}}, from 1965

[[Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau|VEB Automobilbau]]: Automotive engines from {{cvt|0.25-25|PS|0}} and {{cvt|50-100|PS|0}}, from 1965; license abandoned by 1972

[[Porsche]]: Sportscar engines from {{cvt|50-1000|PS|0}}, from 1965

[[Outboard Marine]]: Marine engines from {{cvt|50-400|PS|0}}, from 1966

[[Comotor]] ([[NSU Motorenwerke]] and [[Citroën]]): Petrol engines from {{cvt|40-200|PS|0}}, from 1967

[[Graupner (company)|Graupner]]: Model engines from {{cvt|0.1-3|PS|0}}, from 1967

[[Savkel]]: Industrial petrol engines from {{cvt|0.5-30|PS|0}}, from 1969

[[Nissan]]: Car engines from {{cvt|80-120|PS|0}}, from 1970

*[[General Motors]]: All types of engines, excluding aircraft engines, up to four-rotor engines, from 1970

[[Suzuki]]: Motorcycle engines from {{cvt|20-90|PS|0}}, from 1970

[[Toyota]]: Car engines from {{cvt|75-150|PS|0}}, from 1971

[[Ford Germany]] (including [[Ford Motor Company]]): Car engines from {{cvt|80-200|PS|0}}, from 1971

According to Don Sherman, [[American Motors]] also obtained a license.<ref name="JhYt4Sa" /> In 1961, the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] research organizations of NATI, NAMI, and VNIImotoprom commenced the development of a Wankel engine. Eventually, in 1974, development was transferred to a special design bureau at the [[AvtoVAZ]] plant.<ref name="cu0Uy">{{cite journal |url= http://engine.aviaport.ru/issues/11&12/page14.html |first=Ivan |last=Pyatov |title=RAP from inside and outside (РПД изнутри и снаружи) |journal=Engine (Двигатель) |volume=5–6 (11–12) |date=September–December 2000 |language=ru |access-date=2011-12-11 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111002120904/http://engine.aviaport.ru/issues/11%2612/page14.html |archive-date=2011-10-02 |url-status=dead}}</ref> John B. Hege argues that no license was issued to any Soviet car manufacturer.<ref name="Hege 2006 p. 117">{{cite book | last=Hege | first=John B. | title=The Wankel rotary engine : a history | publisher=McFarland | publication-place=Jefferson, N.C. | date=2006 | isbn=978-0-7864-2905-9 | oclc=123964823 | page=117}}</ref>

==Engineering==

[[File:ApexSeals.jpg|thumb|'''Figure 12.''' Apex seals, left [[NSU Ro 80]]; right Mazda 12A and 13B]]

[[File:W-AR-Cooling.jpg|thumb|'''Figure 13.''' {{ubl

| ''Left'': Mazda L10A camber axial cooling

| ''Middle'': Audi NSU EA871 axial water cooling only the hot bow

| ''Right'': Diamond Engines Wankel radial cooling only the hot bow

}}]]

Felix Wankel managed to overcome most of the problems that made previous attempts to perfect the rotary engines fail, by developing a configuration with vane seals having a tip radius equal to the amount of "oversize" of the rotor housing form, as compared to the theoretical epitrochoid, to minimize radial apex seal motion plus introducing a cylindrical gas-loaded apex pin which abutted all sealing elements to seal around the three planes at each rotor apex.<ref name="fAvRr">{{Citation|url= http://www.freedom-motors.com/history.html |work=Moller Freedom Motors, formerly Outboard Marine Corporation (Evinrude/Johnson) Rotary engines |title=Moller Skycar |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150813225722/http://www.freedom-motors.com/history.html |archive-date=August 13, 2015}}</ref>

In the early days, special, dedicated production machines had to be built for different housing dimensional arrangements. However, patented designs such as {{US patent|3824746}}, G. J. Watt, 1974, for a "Wankel Engine Cylinder Generating Machine", {{US patent|3916738}}, "Apparatus for machining and/or treatment of trochoidal surfaces" and {{US patent|3964367}}, "Device for machining trochoidal inner walls", and others, solved the problem.

Wankel engines have a problem not found in reciprocating piston four-stroke engines in that the block housing has intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust occurring at fixed locations around the housing. This causes a very uneven thermal load on the rotor housing.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 110">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=110}}</ref> In contrast, reciprocating engines perform these four strokes in one chamber, so that extremes of "freezing" intake and "flaming" exhaust are averaged and shielded by a boundary layer from overheating working parts. The use of heat pipes in an air-cooled Wankel was proposed by the University of Florida to overcome this uneven heating of the block housing.<ref name="SAE paper 2014-01-2160">SAE paper 2014-01-2160</ref> Pre-heating of certain housing sections with exhaust gas improved performance and fuel economy, also reducing wear and emissions.<ref name="fpsQZ">'Rotary Engine', Kenichi Yamamoto; Toyo Kogyo, 1969, p. 65-66</ref>

The boundary layer shields and the oil film act as thermal insulation, leading to a low temperature of the lubricating film (approximate maximum {{convert|200|°C|°F|disp=or|-1}} on a water-cooled Wankel engine). This gives a more constant surface temperature. The temperature around the spark plug is about the same as the temperature in the combustion chamber of a reciprocating engine. With circumferential or axial flow cooling, the temperature difference remains tolerable.<ref name="8AMI9">{{Citation | year=1971 | title=Rotary Engine | first=Kenichi | last=Yamamoto | publisher=Toyo Kogyo | at=p. 67 Fig 5.10, 11}}</ref><ref name="rTZvi">{{Citation | year=1981 | title=Rotary Engine | first=Kenichi | last=Yamamoto | publisher=Toyo Kogyo | at=pp. 32, 33 Fig. 3.39–41}}</ref><ref name="3mp3k">{{Citation | first=Richard F | last=Ansdale | title=Der Wankelmotor | language=de | publisher=Motorbuch-Verlag | pages=141–50}}</ref>

Problems arose during research in the 1950s and 1960s. For a while, engineers were faced with what they called "chatter marks" and "devil's scratch" in the inner epitrochoid surface. They discovered that the cause was the apex seals reaching a resonating vibration, and the problem was solved by reducing the thickness and weight of the apex seals. Scratches disappeared after the introduction of more compatible materials for seals and housing coatings. Another early problem was the build-up of cracks in the stator surface near the plug hole, which was eliminated by installing the spark plugs in a separate metal insert/ copper sleeve in the housing, instead of a plug being screwed directly into the block housing.<ref name="zZeTy">'The Wankel Engine', Jan P. Norbye, NSU develops the Wankel, page 139, and Citroën, page 305; Chilton, 1971. {{ISBN|0-8019-5591-2}}</ref> Toyota found that substituting a glow-plug for the leading site spark plug improved low rpm, part load, specific fuel consumption by 7%, and also emissions and idle.<ref name="SAE paper 790435">SAE paper 790435</ref> A later alternative solution to spark plug boss cooling was provided with a variable coolant velocity scheme for water-cooled rotaries, which has had widespread use, being patented by Curtiss-Wright,<ref name="kM022">{{patent|US|3007460}}, M. Bentele, C. Jones, F. P. Sollinger, 11/7/61 and {{patent|US|3155085}}, C. Jones, R. E. Mount, 4/29/63) and {{patent|US|3196850}}, C. Jones, 7/27/65</ref> with the last-listed for better air-cooled engine spark plug boss cooling. These approaches did not require a high-conductivity copper insert, but did not preclude its use. Ford tested a Wankel engine with the plugs placed in the side plates, instead of the usual placement in the housing working surface ({{patent|CA|1036073}}, 1978).

=== Torque delivery ===

Wankel engines are capable of high-speed operation, which means that they do not necessarily need to produce high torque in order to produce high power. The positioning of the intake port and intake port closing greatly effect the torque production of the engine. Early closing of the intake port increases low-end torque, but reduces high-end torque (and thus power), whereas late closing of the intake port reduces low-end torque, whilst increasing torque at high engine speeds, thus resulting in more power at higher engine speeds.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 75">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=75}}</ref>

A peripheral intake port gives the highest [[mean effective pressure]]; however, side intake porting produces a more steady idle,<ref name="J6imC">Yamamoto, Kenichi. ''Rotary engine'', fig 4.26 & 4.27, Mazda, 1981, p. 46.</ref> because it helps to prevent blow-back of burned gases into the intake ducts which cause "misfirings", caused by alternating cycles where the mixture ignites and fails to ignite. Peripheral porting (PP) gives the best mean effective pressure throughout the rpm range, but PP was linked also to worse idle stability and part-load performance. Early work by Toyota<ref name="SAE790435">{{citation|first=T |last= Kohno |publisher= Toyota |title= SAE paper 790435|display-authors=etal}}</ref> led to the addition of a fresh air supply to the exhaust port, and proved also that a Reed-valve in the intake port or ducts<ref name="pKO20">SAE paper 720466, Ford 1979 patent {{patent|CA|1045553}}</ref> improved the low rpm and partial load performance of Wankel engines, by preventing blow-back of exhaust gas into the intake port and ducts, and reducing the misfire-inducing high EGR, at the cost of a small loss of power at top rpm. Elasticity is improved with a greater rotor eccentricity, analogous to a longer stroke in a reciprocating engine. Wankel engines operate better with a low-pressure exhaust system. Higher exhaust back pressure reduces mean effective pressure, more severely in peripheral intake port engines. The Mazda RX-8 Renesis engine improved performance by doubling the exhaust port area compared with earlier designs, and there have been studies of the effect of intake and exhaust piping configuration on the performance of Wankel engines.<ref name="Z8UtD">Ming-June Hsieh et al. SAE papers</ref> Side intake ports (as used in Mazda's Renesis engine) were first proposed by Hanns-Dieter Paschke in the late 1950s. Paschke predicted that precisely calculated intake ports and intake manifolds could make a side port engine as powerful as a PP engine.<ref name="van Basshuysen Schäfer 2017 p. 487">{{cite book | last1=van Basshuysen | first1=R. | last2=Schäfer | first2=F. | title=Handbuch Verbrennungsmotor: Grundlagen, Komponenten, Systeme, Perspektiven | publisher=Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden | series=ATZ/MTZ-Fachbuch | year=2017 | isbn=978-3-658-10901-1 | language=de | page=487}}</ref>

===Materials===

As previously described, the Wankel engine is affected by unequal [[thermal expansion]] due to the four cycles taking place in fixed places of the engine. While this puts great demands on the materials used, the simplicity of the Wankel makes it easier to use alternative materials, such as exotic alloys and [[ceramic]]s. A commonplace method is, for engine housings made of aluminum, to use a spurted [[molybdenum]] layer on the engine housing for the combustion chamber area, and a spurted steel layer elsewhere. Engine housings cast from iron can be induction-brazed to make the material suited for withstanding combustion heat stress.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 137–138">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | pages=137–138}}</ref>

Among the alloys cited for Wankel housing use are A-132, Inconel 625, and 356 treated to T6 hardness. Several materials have been used for plating the housing working surface, [[Nikasil]] being one. Citroën, Daimler-Benz, Ford, A P Grazen and others applied for patents in this field. For the apex seals, the choice of materials has evolved along with the experience gained, from carbon alloys, to steel, [[Ferritic stainless steel|ferritic stainless]], Ferro-TiC and other materials.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 93">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=93}}</ref> The combination of housing plating and the apex and side seal materials was determined experimentally, to obtain the best duration of both seals and housing cover. For the shaft, steel alloys with little deformation on load are preferred, the use of Maraging steel has been proposed for this.

Leaded gasoline fuel was the predominant type available in the first years of the Wankel engine's development. Lead is a solid lubricant, and leaded [[gasoline]] is designed to reduce the wearing of seals and housings. The first engines had the oil supply calculated with consideration of gasoline's lubricating qualities. As leaded gasoline was being phased out, Wankel engines needed an increased mix of oil in the gasoline to provide lubrication to critical engine parts. An SAE paper by [[David Garside]] extensively described Norton's choices of materials and cooling fins.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}

===Sealing===

Early engine designs had a high incidence of sealing loss, both between the rotor and the housing and also between the various pieces making up the housing. Also, in earlier model Wankel engines, carbon particles could become trapped between the seal and the casing, jamming the engine and requiring a partial rebuild. It was common for very early Mazda engines to require rebuilding after {{convert|50,000|mi|km}}. Further sealing problems arose from the uneven thermal distribution within the housings causing distortion and loss of sealing and compression. This thermal distortion also caused uneven wear between the apex seal and the rotor housing, evident on higher mileage engines.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}} The problem was exacerbated when the engine was stressed before reaching [[operating temperature]]. However, Mazda Wankel engines solved these initial problems. Current engines have nearly 100 seal-related parts.<ref name="JhYt4Sa" />

The problem of clearance for hot rotor apexes passing between the axially closer side housings in the cooler intake lobe areas was dealt with by using an axial rotor pilot radially inboard of the oils seals, plus improved inertia oil cooling of the rotor interior (C-W {{patent|US|3261542}}, C. Jones, 5/8/63, {{patent|US|3176915}}, M. Bentele, C. Jones. A.H. Raye. 7/2/62), and slightly "crowned" apex seals (different height in the center and in the extremes of seal).

===Fuel economy and emissions===

As is described in the [[#Thermodynamic disadvantages|thermodynamic disadvantages section]], the Wankel engine is a very inefficient engine with a poor fuel economy. This is caused by the Wankel engine's design with its bad combustion chamber shape and huge surface area. The Wankel engine's design is, on the other hand, much less prone to engine knocking,<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 85" /> which allows using low-[[octane rating|octane]] fuels without reducing compression. As a result of the poor efficiency, the Wankel engine with peripheral exhaust port has a larger amount of unburnt [[hydrocarbons]] (HC) released into the exhaust.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 87">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=87}}</ref><ref name="36xrO">{{Citation | first1=Ritsuharu | last1=Shimizu |first2=Haruo | last2=Okimoto |first3=Seijo | last3=Tashima |first4=Suguru | last4=Fuse | title=SAE Technical Paper Series | publisher=SAE | chapter-url=http://papers.sae.org/950454 | chapter=The Characteristics of Fuel Consumption and Exhaust Emissions of the Side Exhaust Port Rotary Engine | year=1995| volume=1 | doi=10.4271/950454}}</ref> The exhaust is, however, relatively low in [[NOx|nitrogen oxide]] (NOx) emissions, because the combustion is slow, and temperatures are lower than in other engines, and also because of the Wankel engine's good [[exhaust gas recirculation]] (EGR) behavior. [[Carbon monoxide]] (CO) emissions of Wankel and Otto engines are about the same.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 86">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=86}}</ref> The Wankel engine has a significantly higher (ΔtK>100 K) exhaust gas temperature than an Otto engine, especially under low and medium load conditions. This is because of the higher combustion frequency and slower combustion. Exhaust gas temperatures can exceed 1300 K under high load at engine speeds of 6000 min−1. To improve the exhaust gas behavior of the Wankel engine, a thermal reactor or [[catalyst|catalyst converter]] may be used to [[redox|reduce]] hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide from the exhaust.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 87" />

According to Curtiss-Wright research, the factor that controls the amount of unburnt hydrocarbons in the exhaust is the rotor surface temperature, with higher temperatures resulting in fewer hydrocarbons in the exhaust.<ref name="LyHft">{{Citation | first=C | last=Jones | publisher=SAE | format=PDF | url=http://papers.sae.org/790621 | title=790621 | year=1979| doi=10.4271/790621}}</ref> Curtiss-Wright widened the rotor, keeping the rest of engine's architecture unchanged, thus reducing friction losses and increasing displacement and power output. The limiting factor for this widening was mechanical, especially shaft deflection at high rotative speeds.<ref name="NIGaB">SAE paper 710582</ref> Quenching is the dominant source of hydrocarbon at high speeds, and leakage at low speeds.<ref name="Wum7B">{{Citation | first=GA | last=Danieli | publisher=SAE | format=PDF | url=http://papers.sae.org/740186 | title=740186 | year=1974| doi=10.4271/740186}}</ref> Using side-porting which enables closing the exhaust port around the top-dead center and reducing intake and exhaust overlap helps improving fuel consumption.<ref name="36xrO" />

Mazda's [[RX-8]] car with the [[Renesis (Engine)|Renesis]] engine (that was first presented in 1999),<ref name="Dobler 2000 pp. 440–442" /> met, in 2004, the [[United_States_vehicle_emission_standards#Phase_2:_2004–2009|United States' low emissions vehicle (LEV-II) standard]]. This was mainly achieved by using side porting: The exhaust ports, which in earlier Mazda rotary engines were located in the rotor housings, were moved to the side of the combustion chamber. This approach allowed Mazda to eliminate overlap between intake and exhaust port openings, while simultaneously increasing the exhaust port area. This design improved the combustion stability in the low-speed and light load range. The HC emissions from the side exhaust port rotary engine are 35–50% less than those from the peripheral exhaust port Wankel engine. Peripheral ported rotary engines have a better [[mean effective pressure]], especially at high rpm and with a rectangular-shaped intake port.<ref name="y5HHx">{{Citation | publisher=SAE | series=Technical Paper | number=2004–01–1790 | title=Developed Technologies of the New Rotary Engine (RENESIS)}}</ref> However, the RX-8 was not improved to meet [[Emission standard#European Union|Euro 5 emission regulations]] and was discontinued in 2012.<ref name="EjVRK">{{cite web|url= http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motoring/mazda-kills-rx-8-sports-coupe |title=Mazda kills off RX-8 sports coupe |work=Autocar |access-date=2014-02-01}}</ref> The new Mazda 8C of the Mazda MX-30 R-EV meets the Euro 6d-ISC-FCM emissions standard. <ref>Auto Motor und Sport-Der neue Wankelmotor von Mazda im Detail [https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/tech-zukunft/alternative-antriebe/mazda-mx-30-wankelmotor-range-extender-technik/]</ref>

===Laser ignition===

Laser ignition was first proposed in 2011,<ref name="autocar.co.uk">{{cite web|url= http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motoring/mazdas-radical-new-rotary-tech |title=Mazda's radical new rotary tech |publisher=Autocar |date=2011-06-27 |access-date=2014-02-01}}</ref> <ref>Bosch Patent DE 10 2011 083 450 A1 [https://patents.google.com/patent/DE102011083450A1/de]</ref>but first studies of laser ignition were only conducted in 2021. It is assumed that laser ignition of lean fuel mixtures in Wankel engines could improve fuel consumption and exhaust gas behavior. In a 2021 study, a Wankel model engine was tested with laser ignition and various different gaseous and liquid fuels. Laser ignition leads to a faster center of combustion development, thus improving combustion speed, and leading to a reduction in NOx emissions. The laser pulse energy required for proper ignition is "reasonable", in the low single-digit mJ-range. A significant modification of the Wankel engine is not required for laser ignition.<ref name="Loktionov Pasechnikov 2021 p=012031">{{cite journal | last1=Loktionov | first1=E Yu | last2=Pasechnikov | first2=N A | title=First tests of laser ignition in Wankel engine | journal=Journal of Physics: Conference Series | publisher=IOP Publishing | volume=1787 | issue=1 | date=2021-02-01 | issn=1742-6588 | doi=10.1088/1742-6596/1787/1/012031 | page=012031| doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Compression-ignition Wankel===

[[File:Two Stage Rotary RR R1C.jpg|thumb|'''Figure 14.''' Rolls-Royce R1C compression ignition prototype]]

Research has been undertaken into rotary compression ignition engines. The basic design parameters of the Wankel engine preclude obtaining a compression ratio sufficient for Diesel operation in a practical engine.<ref name="Eichlseder Klüting Piock 2008 p. 222">{{cite book | last1=Eichlseder | first1=Helmut | last2=Klüting | first2=Manfred | last3=Piock | first3=Walter F. | title=Grundlagen und Technologien des Ottomotors | publication-place=Wien | date=2008 | isbn=978-3-211-25774-6 | oclc=255415808 | language=de | page=222}}</ref> The Rolls-Royce<ref name="zqxX7">''Autocar'' magazine, week ending Dec 17, 1970</ref> and Yanmar compression-ignition<ref name="tqVfR">SAE paper 870449</ref> approach was to use a two-stage unit (see figure 14.), with one rotor acting as compressor, while combustion takes place in the other.<ref name="LfWIG">Wolf-Dieter Bensinger: Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren, Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York 1973, {{ISBN|978-3-642-52174-4}}. p. 141</ref> Both engines were not functional.<ref name="Eichlseder Klüting Piock 2008 p. 222" />

===Multifuel Wankel engine===

A different approach from a compression ignition (Diesel) Wankel engine is a non-CI, multifuel Wankel engine that is capable of operating on a huge variety of fuels, including diesel fuel.<ref>Wankel Journal, No. 74, January 2015, p. 23</ref> German engineer Dankwart Eiermann designed this engine at Wankel SuperTec (WST) in the early 2000s. It has a chamber volume of 500 cm³ and an indicated power ouput of 50 kW per rotor. Versions with one up to four rotors are possible.<ref name="Wankel Journal p. 22">Wankel Journal, No. 74, January 2015, p. 22</ref> The WST engine has a common-rail direct injection system and operates on a stratified charge principle. Similar to a Diesel engine and unlike a conventional Wankel engine, the WST engine compresses air rather than an air-fuel mixture in the four-cycle engine compression phase. Fuel is only injected into the compressed air shortly before top-dead centre, which results in stratified charge (i.e., no homogeneous mixture). A sparkplug is used to initiate combustion.<ref>Wankel Journal, No. 74, January 2015, p. 24</ref> The pressure at the end of the compression phase and during combustion is lower than in a conventional Diesel engine,<ref name="Wankel Journal p. 22" /> and the fuel consumption is equivalent to that of a small [[Indirect_injection#Precombustion_chamber|IDI Diesel]] (i.e., >250 g/(kW·h)).<ref>Wankel Journal, No. 74, January 2015, p. 27</ref> Diesel-fuel-powered variants of the WST Wankel engine have been used as [[Auxiliary power unit|APUs]] in Deutsche Bahn Diesel locomotives.<ref name="lr-online.de 2020">{{cite web | title=Wirtschaft: Wankel Supertec forscht in Cottbus mit Uni-Nachwuchs | website=lr-online.de | date=2020-09-05 | url=https://www.lr-online.de/lausitz/cottbus/wirtschaft-wankel-supertec-forscht-in-cottbus-mit-uni-nachwuchs-51085230.html | language=de | access-date=2023-01-29}}</ref>

===Hydrogen fuel===

[[File:Mazda RX8 hydrogen rotary car 1.jpg|thumb|right|'''Figure 15.''' [[Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE]] hydrogen-fuelled rotary-engined car]]

As a hydrogen/air fuel mixture is quicker to ignite with a faster-burning rate than gasoline, an important issue of hydrogen internal combustion engines is to prevent pre-ignition and backfire. In a rotary engine, each cycle of the Otto cycle occurs in different chambers. Importantly, the intake chamber is separated from the combustion chamber, keeping the air/fuel mixture away from localized hot spots. Wankel engines also do not have hot exhaust valves, which eases adapting them to hydrogen operation.<ref>{{cite journal |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323548015 |doi=10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.01.202|title=Recent studies on hydrogen usage in Wankel SI engine |year=2018 |last1=Ozcanli |first1=Mustafa |last2=Bas |first2=Oguz |last3=Akar |first3=Mustafa Atakan |last4=Yildizhan |first4=Safak |last5=Serin |first5=Hasan |journal=International Journal of Hydrogen Energy |volume=43 |issue=38 |pages=18037–18045 |s2cid=103553203 }}</ref> Another problem concerns the hydrogenate attack on the lubricating film in reciprocating engines. In a Wankel engine, the problem of a hydrogenate attack is circumvented by using ceramic apex seals.<ref name="WQkIw">1980 BMF report hydrogen Audi EA871 comparison to a hydrogen reciprocating piston engine page 11. Page 8 higher lubricating oil consumption caused by hydrogen</ref><ref name="V4ltk">{{cite web |url= http://www.wankel-spider.de/journal/downloads/journal_12_2003/Seite%2028%2B29%20-%20Wasserstoffwankel.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20040611070850/http://www.wankel-spider.de/journal/downloads/journal_12_2003/Seite%2028%2B29%20-%20Wasserstoffwankel.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 11, 2004 |title=The rotary engine is ideally suited to burn hydrogen without backfiring that can occur when hydrogen is burned in a reciprocating piston engine |access-date=2011-01-05}}</ref>

In a prototype Wankel engine fitted to a [[Mazda RX-8]] to research hydrogen operation, Wakayama et al. found that hydrogen operation improved thermal efficiency by 23% over petrol fuel operation. However, the exhaust gas behavior significantly worsened due to high NOx emissions caused by lean combustion, which meant that the vehicle failed to comply with Japan's SULEV emissions standard. To comply with emissions regulations, a supplementary stoichiometric mode had to be used, which lowered the thermal efficiency of the engine.<ref name="cder.dz">{{cite conference |last1=Wakayama |first1=Norihira |last2=Morimoto |first2=Kenji |last3=Kashiwagi |first3=Akihiro |last4=Saito |first4=Tomoaki |title=Development of Hydrogen Rotary Engine Vehicle |conference=16th World Hydrogen Energy Conference |date=13-16 June 2006 |url=https://www.cder.dz/A2H2/Medias/Download/Proc%20PDF/PARALLEL%20SESSIONS/%5BS22%5D%20Internal%20Combustion%20Engines/13-06-06/169.pdf |access-date=19 January 2023}}</ref>

==Advantages==

Prime advantages of the Wankel engine are:<ref name="PS-April-1966">{{cite magazine |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=nSkDAAAAMBAJ&q=Curtis-Wright+RC2-60&pg=PA102 |title=Test Drive of a US car with a rotating combustion engine |first=Jan P. |last=Norbye |pages=102–107 |magazine=Popular Science |date=April 1966 |volume=188 |issue=4 |access-date=2018-05-05}}</ref>

A far higher [[power-to-weight ratio]] than a piston engine<ref name="Ansdale Keller 1971 p. 205">{{cite book | last1=Ansdale | first1=R.F. | last2=Keller | first2=H. | title=Der Wankelmotor: Konstruktion und Wirkungsweise | publication-place=Stuttgart| publisher=Motorbuch-Verlag | year=1971 | language=de | page=205}}</ref>

* Easier to package in small engine spaces than an equivalent piston engine<ref name="Ansdale Keller 1971 p. 205" />

* Able to reach higher engine speeds than a comparable piston engine

* Operating with almost no vibration<ref name="Ansdale Keller 1971 p. 203" />

* Not prone to engine-knock<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 86" />

* Cheaper to mass-produce, because the engine contains fewer parts<ref name="Ansdale Keller 1971 p. 205" />

Supplying torque for about two-thirds of the combustion cycle rather than one-quarter for a piston engine<ref name="Ansdale Keller 1971 p. 203">{{cite book | last1=Ansdale | first1=R.F. | last2=Keller | first2=H. | title=Der Wankelmotor: Konstruktion und Wirkungsweise | publication-place=Stuttgart| publisher=Motorbuch-Verlag | year=1971 | language=de | page=203}}</ref>

* Easily adapted and highly suitable to use hydrogen fuel.

Wankel engines are considerably lighter and simpler, containing far fewer moving parts than piston engines of equivalent power output. [[poppet valve|Valves or complex valve trains]] are eliminated by using simple ports cut into the walls of the rotor housing. Since the rotor rides directly on a large bearing on the output shaft, there are no [[connecting rod]]s and no [[crankshaft]]. The elimination of reciprocating mass gives Wankel engines a low non-uniformity coefficient, meaning that they operate much smoother than comparable reciprocating piston engines. For instance, a two-rotor Wankel engine is more than twice as smooth in its operation as a four-cylinder reciprocating piston engine.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 72" />

A four-stroke cylinder produces a power stroke only every other rotation of the crankshaft, with three strokes being pumping losses. The Wankel engine also has higher volumetric efficiency than a reciprocating piston engine.<ref name="s4PSp">{{cite book|last=Ansdale |first=Richard F. |year=1995 |title=Der Wankelmotor. Konstruktion und Wirkungsweise |publisher=Motorbuch-Verlag |pages=73, 91–92, 200 |isbn=978-3-87943-214-1 |language=de}}</ref> Because of the quasi-overlap of the power strokes, the Wankel engine is very quick to react to power increases, giving a quick delivery of power when the demand arises, especially at higher engine speeds. This difference is more pronounced when compared to four-cylinder reciprocating engines and less pronounced when compared to higher cylinder counts.

Due to the absence of hot exhaust valves, the fuel [[octane rating|octane]] requirements of Wankel engines are lower than in reciprocating piston engines.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 85" /> As a rule of thumb, it may be assumed that a Wankel engine with a working chamber volume Vk of 500 cm³ and a compression of ε=9 runs well on mediocre-quality petrol with an octane rating of just 91 RON.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 86" /> If in a reciprocating piston engine the compression must be reduced by one unit of compression to avoid knock, then, in a comparable Wankel engine, a reduction in compression may not be required.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 88">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=88}}</ref>

Because of the fewer injector count, fuel injection systems in Wankel engines are cheaper than in reciprocating piston engines. An injection system that allows [[Stratified charge engine|stratified charge]] operation may help reduce rich mixture areas in undesireable parts of the engine, which improves fuel efficiency.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 82–83">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | pages=82–83}}</ref>

==Disadvantages==

=== Thermodynamic disadvantages ===

Wankel rotary engines mainly suffer from poor thermodynamics caused by the Wankel engine's design with its huge surface area and poor combustion chamber shape. As an effect of this, the Wankel engine has slow and incomplete combustion, which results in high fuel consumption and bad exhaust gas behavior.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 85">{{cite book |last=Bensinger |first=Wolf-Dieter |year=1973 |title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren |publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, DE / New York, NY |isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 |oclc=251737493 |lang=de |page=85}}</ref> Wankel engines can reach a typical maximum efficiency of about 30 percent.<ref name="Automotive Handbook 2022 page 642">{{cite book |editor=Bosch, Robert |year=2022 |title=Automotive Handbook |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-119-91190-6 |page=642}}</ref>

In a Wankel rotary engine, fuel combustion is slow, because the combustion chamber is long, thin, and moving. Flame travel occurs almost exclusively in the direction of rotor movement, adding to the poor quenching of the fuel and air mixture, being the main source of unburnt hydrocarbons at high engine speeds: The trailing side of the combustion chamber naturally produces a "squeeze stream" that prevents the flame from reaching the chamber's trailing edge, which worsens the consequences of the fuel and air mixture quenching poorly. Direct fuel injection, in which fuel is injected towards the leading edge of the combustion chamber, can minimize the amount of unburnt fuel in the exhaust.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite news |title=Mazda stays loyal to rotary engines |date=2012-09-18 |newspaper=[[Daily Telegraph]] |location=London, UK |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/9550675/Mazda-stays-loyal-to-rotary-engines.html |access-date=2014-02-01 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/9550675/Mazda-stays-loyal-to-rotary-engines.html |archive-date=2022-01-12}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name=Pj5Jo>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=English |date=5 March 2010 |title=Audi A1 e-tron |department=Geneva Motor Show |newspaper=[[Daily Telegraph]] |location=London, UK |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motor-shows/geneva-motor-show/7367967/Geneva-Motor-Show-Audi-A1-e-tron.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motor-shows/geneva-motor-show/7367967/Geneva-Motor-Show-Audi-A1-e-tron.html |archive-date=2022-01-12}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== Mechanical disadvantages ===

Although many of the disadvantages are the subject of ongoing research, the current disadvantages of the Wankel engine in production are the following:<ref name="M9jv4">{{cite web|url= http://www.brighthubengineering.com/machine-design/4948-the-wankel-engine-part-iii-problems-and-disadvantages/ |title=Wankel Engine - Part III - problems and disadvantages |first=John |last=Sinitsky |publisher=BrighthubEngineering.com |date=11 September 2008 |access-date=2014-02-01}}</ref>

Rotor sealing: The engine housing has vastly different temperatures in each separate chamber section. The different expansion coefficients of the materials lead to imperfect sealing. Additionally, both sides of the seals are exposed to fuel, and the design does not allow for controlling the lubrication of the rotors accurately and precisely. Rotary engines tend to be overlubricated at all engine speeds and loads, and have relatively high oil consumption and other problems resulting from excess oil in the combustion areas of the engine, such as carbon formation and excessive emissions from burning oil. By comparison, a piston engine has all functions of a cycle in the same chamber giving a more stable temperature for piston rings to act against. Additionally, only one side of the piston in a [[four-stroke engine|(four-stroke) piston engine]] is exposed to fuel, allowing oil to lubricate the cylinders from the other side. Piston engine components can also be designed to increase ring sealing and oil control as cylinder pressures and power levels increase. To overcome the problems in a Wankel engine of differences in temperatures between different regions of housing and side and intermediary plates, and the associated thermal dilatation inequities, a heat pipe has been used to transport heat from the hot to the cold parts of the engine. The "heat pipes" effectively direct hot exhaust gas to the cooler parts of the engine, resulting in decreases in efficiency and performance. In small-displacement, charge-cooled rotor, air-cooled housing Wankel engines, that has been shown to reduce the maximum engine temperature from {{convert|231|to|129|°C}}, and the maximum difference between hotter and colder regions of the engine from {{convert|159|to|18|C-change}}.<ref name="XFvJn">{{citation| title=SAE paper 2014-01-2160 |author= Wei Wu|publisher=University of Florida|display-authors=etal}}</ref>

; Apex seal lifting: Centrifugal force pushes the apex seal onto the housing surface forming a firm seal. Gaps can develop between the apex seal and trochoid housing in light-load operation when imbalances in centrifugal force and gas pressure occur. At low engine-rpm ranges, or under low-load conditions, the gas pressure in the combustion chamber can cause the seal to lift off the surface, resulting in combustion gas leaking into the next chamber. Mazda developed a solution, changing the shape of the trochoid housing, which meant that the seals remain flush with the housing. Using the Wankel engine at sustained higher revolutions helps eliminate apex seal lift off, lending it viable in applications such as electricity generation. In motor vehicles, the engine is suited to series-hybrid applications.<ref name="VPlGg">{{cite web |url=http://wardsauto.com/vehicles-amp-technology/mazda-design-breakthrough-may-give-rotary-new-life |title=Mazda Design Breakthrough May Give Rotary New Life |date=29 February 2012 |first=Roger |last=Schreffler |website=wardsAuto.com |access-date=10 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203022737/http://wardsauto.com/vehicles-amp-technology/mazda-design-breakthrough-may-give-rotary-new-life |archive-date=3 February 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> NSU circumvented this problem by adding slots on one side of the apex seals, thus directing the gas pressure into the base of the apex. This effectively prevented the apex seals from lifting off.<ref>Norbye, Jan P., ''The Wankel engine Disign Development Applications'', p.134</ref>

Although in two dimensions the seal system of a Wankel looks to be even simpler than that of a corresponding multi-cylinder piston engine, in three dimensions the opposite is true. As well as the rotor apex seals evident in the conceptual diagram, the rotor must also seal against the chamber ends.

Piston rings in reciprocating engines are not perfect seals; each has a gap to allow for expansion. The sealing at the apexes of the Wankel rotor is less critical because leakage is between adjacent chambers on adjacent strokes of the cycle, rather than to the mainshaft case. Although sealing has improved over the years, the less-than-effective sealing of the Wankel, which is mostly due to lack of lubrication, remains a factor reducing its efficiency.<ref name="cWT8p">{{cite book|last1=Eberle |first1=Meinrad K. |title=SAE Technical Paper Series |volume=1 |last2=Klomp |first2=Edward D. |chapter=An Evaluation of the Potential Performance Gain from Leakage Reduction in Rotary Engines |chapter-url = https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/730117/ |work=SAE Technical Paper Series (730117) |publisher=SAE International |doi=10.4271/730117 |date=1973-02-01 |access-date=2018-05-04}}</ref>

The trailing side of the rotary engine's combustion chamber develops a squeeze stream that pushes back the flame front. With the conventional one or two-spark-plug system and homogenous mixture, this squeeze stream prevents the flame from propagating to the combustion chamber's trailing side in the mid and high-engine speed ranges.<ref name="SAE720357">{{citation|title= Combustion characteristics of Rotary Engines. SAE paper 720357|first1= K |last1= Yamamoto |publisher= Mazda|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Kawasaki dealt with that problem in its US patent {{patent|US|3848574}}; Toyota obtained a 7% economy improvement by placing a glow-plug in the leading side, and using Reed-Valves in intake ducts. In two-stroke engines, metal reeds last about {{convert|15000|km|abbr=in}} while carbon fiber, around {{convert|8000|km|abbr=in}}.<ref name="SAE790435" /> This poor combustion in the trailing side of the chamber is one of the reasons why there is more carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons in a Wankel's exhaust stream. A side-port exhaust, as is used in the [[Renesis (Engine)|Mazda Renesis]], avoids port overlap, one of the causes of this, because the unburned mixture cannot escape. The [[R26B|Mazda 26B]] avoided this problem through the use of a three spark-plug ignition system.<ref name="SAE 930677">{{citation|title=Study of Direct Injection Stratiefied Roatary Engine SAE Paper 930677 |last1= Kagawa, Okazaki ... |publisher= Mazda |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

== Regulations and taxation ==

National agencies that tax automobiles according to displacement and regulatory bodies in [[automobile racing]] use a variety of equivalency factors to compare Wankel engines to four-stroke piston engines. Greece, for instance, taxed cars based on the [[#Chamber volume|working chamber volume (the face of one rotor)]], multiplied by the number of rotors, lowering the cost of ownership.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} Japan did the same, but applied an equivalency factor of 1.5, making Mazda's 13B engine fit just under the 2-liter tax limit. FIA used an equivalency factor of 1.8 but later increased it to 2.0, using the [[#Displacment|displacement formula described by Bensinger]].

== Car applications ==

[[File:NSU-Spider.jpg|thumb|'''Figure 16.''' [[NSU Spider|The 1964 NSU Wankel Spider]], the first car sold with a rotary engine]]

[[File:NSU Ro 80 - 2009-10-11 (Foto Sp).jpg|thumb|'''Figure 17.''' The 1967 NSU Ro80]]

[[File:1967 mazda cosmo sport 1.jpg|thumb|'''Figure 18.''' 1967 [[Mazda Cosmo]], the first two-rotor rotary engine sports car]]

[[File:Mercedes-Benz C111.jpg|thumb|right|'''Figure 19.''' The 1970 [[Mercedes-Benz C111]] was fitted with a four-rotor Wankel engine]]

[[File:Mullin Citroen 03248 GS Birotor.jpg|thumb|right|'''Figure 20.''' 1973 Citroën Birotor]]

[[File:Lada_1600%2C_produced_in_1978%2C_at_the_I._International_Oldtimer_and_Youngtimer_Festival%2C_Budapest%2C_2011.jpg|thumb|right|'''Figure 21.''' VAZ-2106]]

[[File:2008RX-8.jpg|thumb|'''Figure 22.''' The [[Mazda RX-8]] sports car manufactured until 2012]]

The first rotary-engined car for sale was the [[NSU Spider|1964 NSU Rotary Spider]]. Rotary engines were continuously fitted in cars until 2012 when Mazda discontinued the [[Mazda RX-8|RX-8]]. Mazda has announced the introduction of a rotary-engined hybrid electric car, the [[Mazda MX-30|MX-30 R-EV]] for a 2023 introduction.<ref name="capomazda.com">https://www.capomazda.com/blog/introducing-the-2023-mazda-mx-30/</ref>

=== NSU and Mazda ===

Mazda and NSU signed a study contract to develop the Wankel engine in 1961 and competed to bring the first Wankel-powered automobile to the market. Although Mazda produced an [[Mazda Wankel engine|experimental rotary]] that year, NSU was the first with a rotary automobile for sale, the sporty [[NSU Spider]] in 1964; Mazda countered with a display of two- and four-rotor rotary engines at that year's [[Tokyo Motor Show]].<ref name="JhYt4Sa" /> In 1967, NSU began production of a rotary-engined luxury car, the [[NSU Ro 80|Ro 80]].<ref name="ndjUi">{{cite magazine |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,899809,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081215132322/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,899809,00.html |url-status= dead |archive-date=December 15, 2008 |title=The Wankel Wager |magazine=Time |date=1967-09-08 |access-date=2011-12-11}}</ref> NSU had not produced reliable apex seals on the rotor, though, unlike Mazda and Curtiss-Wright. NSU had problems with apex seals' wear, poor shaft lubrication, and poor fuel economy, leading to frequent engine failures, not solved until 1972, which led to large warranty costs curtailing further NSU rotary engine development. This premature release of the new rotary engine gave a poor reputation for all makes, and even when these issues were solved in the last engines produced by NSU in the second half of the '70s, sales did not recover.<ref name="JhYt4Sa" />

By early 1978, Audi engineers [[Richard van Basshuysen]] and Gottlieb Wilmers had designed a new generation of the Audi NSU Wankel engine, the KKM 871. It was a two-rotor unit with a chamber volume Vk of 746.6 cm³, derived from an eccentricity of 17 mm, a generating radius of 118.5 mm, and equidistance of 4 mm and a housing width of 69 mm. It had double side intake ports, and a peripheral exhaust port; it was fitted with a continuously injecting [[Bosch K-Jetronic]] multipoint [[manifold injection]] system. According to the DIN 70020 standard, it produced 121 kW at 6500/min, and could provide a max. torque of 210 N·m at 3500/min.<ref name="Van Basshuysen Wilmers 1978 p. 3" /> Van Basshuysen and Wilmers designed the engine with either a thermal reactor, or a catalytic converter for emissions control.<ref name="Van Basshuysen Wilmers 1978 p. 8">{{cite conference | last1=Van Basshuysen | first1=Richard | last2=Wilmers | first2=Gottlieb | title=SAE Technical Paper Series | chapter=An Update of the Development on the New Audi NSU Rotary Engine Generation | publisher=SAE International | date=1978-02-01 | volume=1 | issn=0148-7191 | doi=10.4271/780418 | page=3}}</ref> The engine had a mass of 142 kg,<ref name="Van Basshuysen Wilmers 1978 p. 3">{{cite conference | last1=Van Basshuysen | first1=Richard | last2=Wilmers | first2=Gottlieb | title=SAE Technical Paper Series | chapter=An Update of the Development on the New Audi NSU Rotary Engine Generation | publisher=SAE International | date=1978-02-01 | volume=1 | issn=0148-7191 | doi=10.4271/780418 | page=3}}</ref> and a BSFC of approximately 315 g/(kW·h) at 3000/min and a BMEP of 900 kPa.<ref name="Van Basshuysen Wilmers 1978 p. 11">{{cite conference | last1=Van Basshuysen | first1=Richard | last2=Wilmers | first2=Gottlieb | title=SAE Technical Paper Series | chapter=An Update of the Development on the New Audi NSU Rotary Engine Generation | publisher=SAE International | date=1978-02-01 | volume=1 | issn=0148-7191 | doi=10.4271/780418 | page=11}}</ref> For testing, two KKM 871 engines were installed in [[Audi_100#Audi_100,_200_and_5000_(C2,_1976–1982)|Audi 100 Type 43]] test cars, one with a five-speed manual gearbox, and one with a three-speed automatic gearbox.<ref name="Van Basshuysen Wilmers 1978 p. 16">{{cite conference | last1=Van Basshuysen | first1=Richard | last2=Wilmers | first2=Gottlieb | title=SAE Technical Paper Series | chapter=An Update of the Development on the New Audi NSU Rotary Engine Generation | publisher=SAE International | date=1978-02-01 | volume=1 | issn=0148-7191 | doi=10.4271/780418 | page=16}}</ref>

=== Mazda ===

Mazda claimed to have solved the apex seal problem, operating test engines at high speed for 300 hours without failure.<ref name="JhYt4Sa" /> After years of development, [[Mazda Wankel engine|Mazda's first rotary engine]] car was the 1967 [[Mazda Cosmo|Cosmo 110S]]. The company followed with a number of Wankel ("rotary" in the company's terminology) vehicles, including a bus and a [[Mazda Rotary Pickup|pickup truck]]. Customers often cited the cars' smoothness of operation. However, Mazda chose a method to comply with [[hydrocarbon]] [[emission standard]]s that, while less expensive to produce, increased fuel consumption.

Mazda later abandoned the rotary in most of their automotive designs, continuing to use the engine in their [[sports car]] range only. The company normally used two-rotor designs. A more advanced twin-[[turbo]] three-rotor engine was fitted in the 1990 [[Mazda Cosmo#Series JC (Eunos Cosmo, 1990–1996)|Eunos Cosmo]] sports car. In 2003, Mazda introduced the [[Renesis (Engine)|Renesis]] engine fitted in the [[Mazda RX-8|RX-8]]. The Renesis engine relocated the ports for exhaust from the periphery of the rotary housing to the sides, allowing for larger overall ports, and better airflow.<ref name="Qbqnp">Masaki Ohkubo et al., SAE paper 2004-01-1790</ref> The Renesis is capable of {{convert|238|hp|kW|sigfig=3|abbr=on}} with improved fuel economy, reliability, and lower emissions than previous Mazda rotary engines,<ref name="cBaLx">{{cite web|url=http://www.classicmazda.co.uk/1999_doc/rotary2.pdf |title=Rotary Engine (chapter 1: today and tomorrow) |publisher=Mazda |pages=6–7 |year=1999 |access-date=2011-12-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100705061356/http://classicmazda.co.uk/1999_doc/rotary2.pdf |archive-date=July 5, 2010}}</ref> all from a nominal 2.6 L displacement, but this was not enough to meet more stringent emissions standards. Mazda ended production of their rotary engine in 2012 after the engine failed to meet the more stringent [[European emission standards|Euro 5 emission standards]], leaving no automotive company selling a rotary-powered road vehicle.<ref name="CGHhL">{{cite news|url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-25/mazda-ends-hummm-as-rotary-gives-way-to-hydrogen-cells-cars.html |title=Mazda Ends Hummm as Rotary Gives Way to Hydrogen Cells: Cars |first=Anna |last=Mukai |access-date=2012-06-26 |date=2012-06-25 |work=Bloomberg}}</ref>

=== Citroën ===

Citroën did much research, producing the [[Citroën M35|M35]] and [[Citroën GS Birotor|GS Birotor]] cars, and the {{Interlanguage link multi|Citroën RE-2|fr|3=Citroën RE-2|lt=RE-2}} [[helicopter]], using engines produced by [[Comotor]], a joint venture by Citroën and NSU.

=== Daimler-Benz ===

Daimler-Benz fitted a Wankel engine in their [[Mercedes-Benz C111|C111]] concept car. The C 111-II's engine was naturally aspirated, fitted with petrol direct injection, and had four rotors. The total displacement was {{convert|4.8|L|cuin|abbr=in}}, and the compression ration was 9.3:1 It provided a maximum torque of {{cvt|433|Nm|kpm|0}} at 5,000{{nbsp}}rpm and a produced a power output of {{cvt|350|PS|kW|order=flip|0}} at 6,000{{nbsp}}rpm.<ref name="Dobler 2000 pp. 440–442" />

=== American Motors ===

[[American Motors Corporation]] (AMC), the smallest U.S. automaker, was so convinced "... that the rotary engine will play an important role as a powerplant for cars and trucks of the future ...", that the chairman, [[Roy D. Chapin Jr.]], signed an agreement in February 1973 after a year's negotiations, to build rotary engines for both passenger cars and military vehicles, as well as the right to sell any rotary engines it produced to other companies.<ref name="D1JXj">{{cite magazine |url= http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/auto_rearview_mirror_15/ |title=Rearview mirror |magazine=Ward's Auto World |date=2000-02-01 |access-date=2013-04-10 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111105205047/http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/auto_rearview_mirror_15/ |archive-date=2011-11-05 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="4aVPu">{{cite book |last=Faith |first=Nicholas |title=Wankel: The Curious Story Behind the Revolutionary Rotary Engine |publisher=Stein and Day |year=1975 |page= [https://archive.org/details/wankelcurioussto00fait/page/219 219] |isbn=978-0-8128-1719-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/wankelcurioussto00fait/page/219}}</ref> AMC's president, William Luneburg, did not expect dramatic development through to 1980, but [[Gerald C. Meyers]], AMC's vice president of the engineering product group, suggested that AMC should buy the engines from Curtiss-Wright before developing its own rotary engines, and predicted a total transition to rotary power by 1984.<ref name="EylYW">{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IB2lMFqTTl8C&q=American+Motors+president+1980+Wankel+engine&pg=PA115 |title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: A History |first=John B. |last=Hege |date=24 August 2017 |publisher=McFarland |via=Google Books |access-date=2018-05-04|isbn=9780786486588}}</ref>

Plans called for the engine to be used in the [[AMC Pacer]], but development was pushed back.<ref name="N9680">{{cite magazine |first=Robert |last=Lund |title=Detroit Listening Post |page=26 |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=May 1973 |volume=139 |issue=5 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=htQDAAAAMBAJ&q=AMC+Gremlin+Wankel+engine&pg=PA26 |access-date=2012-08-14}}</ref><ref name="AyqBG">{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bOU8TD_BxwMC&q=AMC+Gremlin+Wankel+engine&pg=PA32 |first=Jim |last=Dunne |title=Detroit Report |magazine=Popular Science |page=32 |date=April 1973 |volume=201 |issue=4 |access-date=2011-12-11}}</ref> American Motors designed the unique Pacer around the engine. By 1974, AMC had decided to purchase the [[General Motors Rotary Combustion Engine|General Motors]] (GM) rotary instead of building an engine in-house.<ref name="pkgwv">{{cite magazine |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=g-IDAAAAMBAJ&q=AMC+Pacer+Wankel+engine&pg=PA129 |title=Half-pints for higher MPG |page=129 |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=January 1975 |volume=143 |issue=1 |first1=Bill |last1=Hartford |first2=Robert |last2=Lund |access-date=2011-12-11}}</ref> Both GM and AMC confirmed the relationship would be beneficial in marketing the new engine, with AMC claiming that the GM rotary achieved good fuel economy.<ref name="1OYME">{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ndQDAAAAMBAJ&q=Rotary+no+gas+hog+AMC&pg=PA27 |page=27 |title=Detroit Listening Post: Rotary is no gas hog, says AMC |first=Robert |last=Lund |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=December 1974 |volume=142 |issue=6 |access-date=2012-08-14}}</ref> GM's engines had not reached production, though, when the Pacer was launched onto the market. The [[1973 oil crisis]] played a part in frustrating the use of the rotary engine. Rising fuel prices and speculation about proposed US emission standards legislation also added to concerns.

=== General Motors ===

By 1974, GM R&D had not succeeded in producing a Wankel engine meeting both the emission requirements and good fuel economy, leading to a decision by the company to cancel the project. Because of that decision, the R&D team only partly released the results of its most recent research, which claimed to have solved the fuel-economy problem, as well as building reliable engines with a lifespan above {{convert|530,000|mi}}. Those findings were not taken into account when the cancellation order was issued. The ending of GM's rotary project required AMC, who was to purchase the engine, to reconfigure the Pacer to house its [[AMC straight-6 engine]] driving the rear wheels.<ref name="RTINh">{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fJ_qWhCZm04C&q=AMC+Pacer+Wankel+six+cylinder&pg=PA122 |title=The Big Book of Car Culture: The Armchair Guide to Automotive Americana |first1=Jim |last1=Hinckley |first2=Jon G. |last2=Robinson |page=122 |publisher=MBI Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7603-1965-9 |access-date=2011-12-11}}</ref>

=== AvtoVAZ ===

In 1974, the [[Soviet Union]] created a special engine-design bureau, which in 1978, designed an engine designated as VAZ-311 fitted into a [[VAZ-2101]] car.<ref name="BLpRB">{{cite web|url= https://drivemag.com/news/did-you-know-lada-made-wankel-rotary-engined-cars |title=Did You Know Lada Made rotary Rotary-Engined Cars? |website=drivemag.com}}</ref> In 1980, the company commenced delivery of the VAZ-411 twin-rotor Wankel engine in [[VAZ-2106]] cars, with about 200 being manufactured. Most of the production went to the security services.<ref name="1paIa">[http://digilander.libero.it/cuoccimix/ENGLISH-automotorusse4(lada2).htm "LADA – part II" Autosoviet, undated], retrieved on September 27, 2008.</ref><ref name="7IBoX">[http://www.zr.ru/articles/39278/ "ЛИНИЯ ЖИЗНИ – ЭПИТРОХОИДА" 01.07.2001] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004024310/http://www.zr.ru/articles/39278/ |date=2008-10-04}}, retrieved on September 27, 2008. {{in lang|ru}}</ref>

=== Ford ===

Ford conducted research in rotary engines, resulting in patents granted: {{patent|GB|1460229}}, 1974, a method for fabricating housings; {{patent|US|3833321}} 1974, side plates coating; {{patent|US|3890069}}, 1975, housing coating; {{patent|CA|1030743}}, 1978: Housings alignment; {{patent|CA|1045553}}, 1979, reed-valve assembly. In 1972, Henry Ford II stated that the rotary probably would not replace the piston in "my lifetime".<ref name="Y40Pb">{{Cite book |last=Dark |first=Harris Edward |year=1974 |title=The Wankel Rotary Engine: Introduction and Guide |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=s5VTAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Indiana University Press |page=80 |isbn=0-253-19021-5 |oclc=59790157}}</ref>

=== Car racing ===

[[File:Mazda-787B.JPG|thumb|right|'''Figure 23.''' [[Mazda 787B]]]]

The Sigma MC74 powered by a Mazda 12A engine was the first engine and only team from outside [[Western Europe]] or the United States to finish the entire 24{{nbsp}}hours of the [[24 Hours of Le Mans]] [[auto racing|race]], in 1974. [[Yojiro Terada]] was the driver of the MC74. Mazda was the first team from outside Western Europe or the United States to win Le Mans outright. It was also the only non-piston engined car to win Le Mans, which the company accomplished in 1991 with their four-rotor [[Mazda 787|787B]] ({{convert |5.24|L|cuin|0|abbr=on|disp=or}} displacement), rated by FIA formula at {{convert|4.708|L|cuin|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}). In the C2 class, all participants had only the same amount of fuel at their disposal, besides the unregulated C1 Category 1. This category only allowed naturally aspirated engines. The Mazdas were classified as naturally aspirated to start with 830 kg weight, 170 kg less than the supercharged competitors.<ref>{{cite web |last=Chin |first=Joshua |date=2021-08-22 |title=The Rotary Mazda 787B Won At Le Mans 30 Years Ago |url= https://automacha.com/mazda-787b-achieves-historic-le-mans-victory-in-1991/ |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=automacha.com}}</ref> The cars under the Group C1 Category 1 regulations for 1991 were allowed to be another 80 kg lighter than the 787B.<ref>Tare weight Peugeot 905 750kg</ref> In addition, Group C1 Category 1 had only permitted 3.5-liter naturally aspirated engines and had no fuel quantity limits.<ref>Verbrauchsregeln der Gruppe C von 1982 bis 1991 – Motorsport kompakt erklärt https://autonatives.de/verbrauchsregeln-der-gruppe-c-von-1982-bis-1991.html</ref>

=== As a vehicle range extender ===

[[File:Hybridpeak.svg|thumb|'''Figure 24.''' Structure of a series-hybrid vehicle. The grey square represents a differential gear. An alternative arrangement (not shown) is to have electric motors at two or four wheels.]]

Due to the compact size and the high [[power-to-weight ratio]] of a Wankel engine, it has been proposed for electric vehicles as [[range extender (vehicle)|range extender]]s to provide supplementary power when electric battery levels are low. A Wankel engine used as a generator has packaging, noise, vibration and harshness advantages when used in a passenger car, maximizing interior passenger and luggage space, as well as providing a good noise and vibration emissions profile. However, it is questionable whether or not the inherent disadvantages of the Wankel engine allow the usage of the Wankel engine as a range extender for passenger cars.<ref name="Merker Teichmann Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden 2019 p. 484">{{cite book | last1=Merker | first1=Günter P. | last2=Teichmann | first2=Rüdiger | author3=Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden | title=Grundlagen Verbrennungsmotoren Funktionsweise und alternative Antriebssysteme Verbrennung, Messtechnik und Simulation | publication-place=Wiesbaden, Germany | date=2019 | isbn=978-3-658-23556-7 | oclc=1062240250 | language=de | page=484}}</ref>

In 2010, [[Audi]] unveiled a prototype series-hybrid electric car, the [[Audi A1#A1 e-tron|A1 e-tron]]. It incorporated a Wankel engine with a chamber volume Vk of 254 cm³, capable of producing 18 kW at 5000/min. It was mated to an electric generator which recharged the car's batteries as needed and provided electricity directly to the electric driving motor. The package had a mass of 70 kg and could produce 15 kW of electric power.<ref name="Ribau Silva Brito Martins 2012 pp. 120–133">{{cite journal | last1=Ribau | first1=João | last2=Silva | first2=Carla | last3=Brito | first3=Francisco P. | last4=Martins | first4=Jorge | title=Analysis of four-stroke, Wankel, and microturbine based range extenders for electric vehicles | journal=Energy Conversion and Management | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=58 | year=2012 | issn=0196-8904 | doi=10.1016/j.enconman.2012.01.011 | pages=120–133}}</ref>

[[File:DEMIO EV 20130126-1.JPG|thumb|'''Figure 25.''' Mazda2 EV prototype]]

In November 2013 Mazda announced to the motoring press a series-hybrid prototype car, the [[Mazda Demio|Mazda2 EV]], using a Wankel engine as a range extender. The generator engine, located under the rear luggage floor, is a tiny, almost inaudible, single-rotor 330-cc unit, generating {{convert|30|hp|abbr=on}} at 4,500{{nbsp}}rpm, and maintaining a continuous electric output of 20 kW.<ref name="3Lh1L">{{cite magazine|author=Owen Mildenhall |url= http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/mazda/2/84660/mazda-2-ev-gets-new-rotary-range-extender-engine |title=Mazda 2 EV gets new rotary range extender engine |magazine=Auto Express |date=2013-11-25 |access-date=2014-02-01}}</ref><ref name="MSY29">{{cite web |author=Toby Hagon |url=http://news.drive.com.au/drive/new-car-reviews/mazda2-ev-range-extender-first-drive-review-20131125-2y4p3.html |title=Mazda2 EV range extender first drive review |website=news.drive.com.au |date=2012-02-21 |access-date=2014-02-01 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003056/http://news.drive.com.au/drive/new-car-reviews/mazda2-ev-range-extender-first-drive-review-20131125-2y4p3.html |archive-date=2013-12-03 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Xr2Bg">{{cite web|last=Ingram |first=Antony |url= http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1088728_rotary-engine-lives-on-in-range-extended-electric-mazda-2-prototype |title=Rotary Engine Lives On In Range-Extended Electric Mazda 2 Prototype |website=greencarreports.com |access-date=2014-02-01}}</ref>

Mazda announced that they would launch the [[Mazda MX-30|MX-30 R-EV]] fitted with a Wankel engine range extender in March 2023.<ref name="capomazda.com"/> Eventually, the car was presented at the Brussels Auto Show on 14 January 2023. The car's Wankel engine is a naturally aspirated single-rotor unit with a chamber volume Vk of {{cvt|830|cm3|in3|1}}, a compression of 11.9, and a rated power output of {{cvt|55|kW|hp|0}}. It has [[petrol direct injection]], [[exhaust gas recirculation]], and an exhaust-gas treatment system with a [[Three-way catalyst|TWC]] and a [[Diesel particulate filter|particulate filter]]. According to [[auto motor und sport]], the engine is Euro 6d-ISC-FCM-compliant.<ref name="auto motor und sport 2023">{{cite web | title=Mazda MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV (2023) : Elektro-SUV mit Wankelmotor als Range Extender |website=auto-motor-und-sport.de | first1=Gerd |last1=Stegmaier | first2=Thiemo |last2=Fleck | first3=Torsten |last3=Seibt| date=2023-01-13 | url=https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/neuheiten/mazda-mx-30-bev-wankel-generator-serieller-plug-in-hybrid/ | language=de | access-date=2023-01-15}}</ref>

== Motorcycle applications ==

The first Wankel-engined motorcycle was an [[MZ Motorrad- und Zweiradwerk|MZ]]-built [[MZ ES 250]], fitted with a water-cooled KKM 175 W Wankel engine. This was followed by an air-cooled version, called the KKM 175 L, in 1965. The engine produced {{cvt|24|bhp|kW|0}} at 6,750{{nbsp}}rpm, but the motorcycle never went into series production.<ref name="Walker 2004 p. 27-28">{{cite book | last=Walker | first=M. | title=Mz | publisher=Redline Books | series=Enthusiasts Series | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-9544357-4-5 | page=27-28}}</ref>

=== Norton ===

[[File:MyPicClassic.jpg|thumb|'''Figure 26.''' [[Norton Classic]] air-cooled twin-rotor motorcycle]]

[[File:SL-Norton-Interpol.jpg|thumb|right|'''Figure 27.''' Norton Interpol2 prototype]]

In Britain, [[Norton Motorcycles]] developed a Wankel rotary engine for [[motorcycle]]s, based on the Sachs air-cooled rotor Wankel that powered the DKW/Hercules W-2000 motorcycle. This two-rotor engine was included in the [[Norton Commander (motorcycle)|Commander]] and [[Norton F1|F1]]. Norton improved on Sachs's air cooling, introducing a plenum chamber. [[Suzuki]] also made a production motorcycle powered by a Wankel engine, the [[Suzuki RE5|RE-5]], using ferro[[TiC]] alloy apex seals and an NSU rotor in a successful attempt to prolong the engine's life.

In the early 1980s, using earlier work at [[Birmingham Small Arms|BSA]], [[Norton Motorcycle Company|Norton]] produced the air-cooled twin-rotor [[Norton Classic|Classic]], followed by the liquid-cooled [[Norton Commander (motorcycle)|Commander]] and the Interpol2 (a police version).<ref name="p1htL">{{Citation | url = http://www.der-wankelmotor.de/Motoraeder/Norton/Motorraeder_Triumph/motorraeder_triumph.html | title=Triumph-Norton Wankel | publisher=Der Wankelmotor | place=DE | access-date=2012-08-14}} ([http://translate.google.de/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.der-wankelmotor.de%2FMotoraeder%2FNorton%2FMotorraeder_Triumph%2Fmotorraeder_triumph.html&sl=de&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 translation]).</ref> Subsequent Norton Wankel bikes included the [[Norton F1]], F1 Sports, RC588, [[Norton RCW588]], and NRS588. Norton proposed a new 588-cc twin-rotor model called the "NRV588" and a 700-cc version called the "NRV700".<ref name="8j5sm">{{cite web|url=http://www.jpsnorton.com |title=Norton Racing Rotary powered Motorcycles}}</ref> A former mechanic at Norton, Brian Crighton, started developing his own rotary engined motorcycles line named "Roton", which won several Australian races.

Despite successes in racing,<ref name="oMPvj">{{cite web|url=http://www.jpsnorton.com/race-results/|title=Race Results - JPS Norton|first=Neil|last=Meads |website=jpsnorton.com}}</ref> no motorcycles powered by Wankel engines have been produced for sale to the general public for road use since 1992.

=== Yamaha ===

In 1972, [[Yamaha Motor Company|Yamaha]] introduced the RZ201 at the [[Tokyo Motor Show]], a prototype with a Wankel engine, weighing 220 kg and producing {{convert|60|hp|abbr=on}} from a twin-rotor 660-cc engine (US patent N3964448). In 1972, Kawasaki presented its two-rotor Kawasaki X99 rotary engine prototype (US patents N 3848574 &3991722). Both Yamaha and Kawasaki claimed to have solved the problems of poor fuel economy, high exhaust emissions, and poor engine longevity, in early Wankels, but neither prototype reached production.

=== Hercules ===

In 1974, Hercules produced [[Hercules W-2000|W-2000]] Wankel motorcycles, but low production numbers meant the project was unprofitable, and production ceased in 1977.<ref name="J2L1g">{{cite web|url= http://www.der-wankelmotor.de/Motoraeder/Hercules/hercules.html | title= Hercules W2000 | publisher=Der Wankelmotor | location=DE |access-date=2009-07-03}}</ref>

=== Suzuki ===

From 1975 to 1976, [[Suzuki]] produced its [[Suzuki RE5|RE5]] single-rotor Wankel motorcycle. It was a complex design, with both [[Radiator (engine cooling)|liquid cooling]] and [[oil cooling]], and multiple lubrication and [[carburetor]] systems. It worked well and was smooth, but being rather heavy, and having a modest power output of {{convert|62|hp|abbr=on}}, it did not sell well.<ref name="ncNHg">{{Citation | url=http://www.fasterandfaster.net/2006/08/remembering-rotary-suzuki-re-5.html | title=Remembering Rotary: Suzuki RE-5 | publisher=Faster and Faster | date=August 14, 2006 | access-date=2012-08-14 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910121723/http://www.fasterandfaster.net/2006/08/remembering-rotary-suzuki-re-5.html | archive-date=September 10, 2012 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

Suzuki opted for a complicated oil-cooling and water-cooling system, with Garside reasoning that provided the power did not exceed {{convert|80|hp|abbr=on}}, air-cooling would suffice. [[David Garside]] cooled the interior of the rotors with filtered [[ram-air]]. This very hot air was cooled in a [[plenum chamber|plenum]] contained within the semi-[[monocoque]] frame and afterward, once mixed with fuel, fed into the engine. This air was quite oily after running through the interior of the rotors and thus was used to lubricate the rotor tips. The exhaust pipes become very hot, with Suzuki opting for a finned exhaust manifold, twin-skinned exhausted pipes with cooling grilles, heatproof pipe wrappings, and silencers with heat shields. Garside simply tucked the pipes out of harm's way under the engine, where heat would dissipate in the breeze of the vehicle's forward motion. Suzuki opted for complicated multi-stage carburation, whilst Garside choose simple carburetors. Suzuki had three lube systems, whilst Garside had a single total-loss oil injection system which was fed to both the main bearings and the intake manifolds. Suzuki chose a single rotor that was fairly smooth, but with rough patches at 4,000 rpm; Garside opted for a turbine-smooth twin-rotor motor. Suzuki mounted the massive rotor high in the frame, but Garside put his rotors as low as possible to lower the center of gravity of the motorcycle.<ref name="D1mEV">"Cycle World" Magazine March 1971</ref>

Although it was said to handle well, the result was that the Suzuki was heavy, overcomplicated, expensive to manufacture, and at 62 bhp short on power. Garside's design was simpler, smoother, lighter and, at {{convert|80|hp|abbr=on}}, significantly more powerful.<ref name="FgIdn">''Bike'' magazine, autumn 1974</ref>

=== Van Veen ===

Dutch motorcycle importer and manufacturer [[Van Veen (motorcycle)|Van Veen]] produced small quantities of a dual-rotor Wankel-engined OCR-1000 motorcycle between 1978 and 1980, using surplus [[Comotor]] engines. The engine of the OCR 1000, used a re-purposed engine originally intended for the [[Citroën GS Birotor|Citroën GS Birotor car]].<ref name="sw66B">{{cite web|url= https://www.motorcycleclassics.com/more-classic-motorcycles/van-veen-ocr-1000-rotary-engine-motorcycle-zmmz11sozraw|title=2011 Van Veen OCR 1000 Rotary Engine Motorcycle |website=motorcycleclassics.com |date=September 2011 }}</ref>

== Non-road vehicle applications ==

=== Aircraft ===

[[File:Wankel RC2-60 Rotary Engine.jpg|thumb|right|'''Figure 28.''' Wankel RC2-60 Aeronautical Rotary Engine]]

[[File:ARV Midwest.pdf|thumb|right|'''Figure 29.''' ARV Super2 with the British [[MidWest AE series|MidWest AE110]] twin-rotor Wankel engine]]

[[File:Diamond-Katana-DA20-Wankel.jpg|thumb|right|'''Figure 30.''' [[Diamond DA20]] with a Diamond Engines Wankel]]

[[File:Cypher-UAV.JPG|thumb|right|'''Figure 31.''' [[Sikorsky Cypher]] Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) powered with a UEL AR801 Wankel engine]]

[[File:Citroën RE-2.jpg|thumb|right|'''Figure 32.''' Citroën RE-2 helicopter in 1975]]

In principle, rotary engines are ideal for light aircraft, being light, compact, almost vibrationless, and with a high [[power-to-weight ratio]]. Further aviation benefits of a rotary engine include:

# The engine is not susceptible to "shock-cooling" during descent;

# The engine does not require an enriched mixture for cooling at high power;

# Having no reciprocating parts, there is less vulnerability to damage when the engine revolves at a higher rate than the designed maximum.

Unlike cars and motorcycles, a rotary aero-engine will be sufficiently warm before full power is asked of it because of the time taken for pre-flight checks. Also, the journey to the runway has minimum cooling, which further permits the engine to reach the operating temperature for full power on take-off.<ref name="H8TbB">MidWest Engines Ltd AE1100R Rotary Engine Manual</ref> A Wankel aero-engine spends most of its operational time at high power outputs, with little idling.

Since rotary engines operate at a relatively high [[rotational speed]], at 6,000{{nbsp}}rpm of output shaft the rotor spins only at about one-third of that speed. With relatively low torque, propeller-driven aircraft must use a [[propeller Speed Reduction Unit|propeller speed reduction unit]] to maintain propellers within the designed speed range. Experimental aircraft with Wankel engines use propeller speed reduction units, for example, the [[MidWest AE series|MidWest]] twin-rotor engine has a 2.95:1 reduction gearbox.

The first rotary engine aircraft was in the late-1960s in the experimental [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]] Q-Star civilian version of the [[United States Army]]'s reconnaissance QT-2, essentially a powered [[Schweizer Aircraft Corporation|Schweizer]] [[sailplane]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lockheed QT-2 / Lockheed Q-Star |url= http://all-aero.com/index.php/contactus/53-planes-l-m-n-o/6207-lockheed-qt-2--q-star |website=all-aero.com |access-date=19 January 2023}}</ref> The plane was powered by a {{convert|185|hp|abbr=on}} [[Curtiss-Wright]] RC2-60 Wankel rotary engine.<ref name="airandspace.si.edu">{{cite web |title=Wright Aeronautical (Wankel) RC2-60 Rotary Engine |url= https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/wright-aeronautical-wankel-rc2-60-rotary-engine/nasm_A19870228000 |work=National Air and Space Museum |access-date=19 January 2023}}</ref> The same engine model was also used in a Cessna Cardinal and a helicopter, as well as other airplanes.<ref name="PS-April-1966" /><ref name="kza2k">{{Citation | title=A Survey of Curtiss-Wright's 1958–1971 Rotating Combustion Engine Technological Developments | series=SAE | format=PDF |url= http://papers.sae.org/720468 | number=720468 | first=Charles | last=Jones | place=Detroit, IL, USA | date=May 1972| volume=1 | doi=10.4271/720468 }}</ref><ref name="PTyY3">{{cite web | url= http://www.der-wankelmotor.de/Motoren/Curtiss_Wright/curtiss_wright.html | title=Curtiss & Wright |publisher= Der Wankelmotor | location=DE |access-date=2009-07-03}}</ref> The French company [[Citroën]] developed a rotary-powered {{Interlanguage link multi|Citroën RE-2|fr|3=Citroën RE-2|lt=RE-2}} [[helicopter]] in the 1970s.<ref name="PBoulay">{{cite book|language=fr|first=Pierre|last=Boulay|title=Les hélicoptères français|editor=Guides Larivière|year=1998|isbn=2-907051-17-2}}</ref> In Germany in the mid-1970s, a pusher ducted fan airplane powered by a modified NSU multi-rotor rotary engine was developed in both civilian and military versions, Fanliner and Fantrainer.<ref name="Popular Science p. 88">{{cite magazine | first=Ben | last=Kocivar | title=Wankel Fanliner | magazine=Popular Science | issn=0161-7370 | date=March 1977 | page=88}}</ref>

At roughly the same time as the first experiments with full-scale aircraft powered with rotary engines, [[Model engine|model aircraft]]-sized versions were pioneered by a combination of the well-known Japanese [[O.S. Engines]] firm and the then-extant German [[Graupner (company)|Graupner]] aeromodelling products firm, under license from NSU. The Graupner model Wankel engine has a chamber volume Vk of 4.9 cm3, and produces 460 W at 16,000 min−1; its mass is 370 g. It was produced by O.S. engines of Japan.<ref name="Bensinger 1973 p. 142">{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg, New York | date=1973 | isbn=978-3-540-05886-1 | oclc=251737493 | language=de | page=142}}</ref>

Rotary engines have been fitted in homebuilt experimental aircraft, such as the [[ARV Super2]], a couple of which were powered by the British [[MidWest AE series|MidWest]] aero-engine. Most are Mazda 12A and 13B automobile engines, converted for aviation use. This is a very cost-effective alternative to certified aircraft engines, providing engines ranging from 100 to {{convert|300|hp}} at a fraction of the cost of traditional piston engines. These conversions were initially in the early 1970s. Peter Garrison, a contributing editor for ''Flying'' magazine, has said that "in my opinion … the most promising engine for aviation use is the Mazda rotary."<ref name="kqNVP">"Revisiting Rotaries", Peter Garrison, ''Flying'', '''130''', #6 (June 2003), pp. 90 ff.</ref>

The [[glider (sailplane)|sailplane]] manufacturer [[Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co|Schleicher]] uses an Austro Engines AE50R Wankel<ref name="Austro Engines AR50">{{cite web|url = https://www.austroengine.at/produkte |title = Produkte Kreiskolbenmotoren}}</ref><ref name="Austro Engines AR50 and IAE50R-AA">{{cite web|url = https://www.alexander-schleicher.de/en/austro-engine-verlaengert-wartungsintervalle-fuer-wankelmotoren/ |title =Austro Engine extends service intervals of rotary engines|date =26 November 2019}}</ref> in its self-launching models [[Schleicher ASK 21|ASK-21 Mi]], [[Schleicher ASH 26|ASH-26E]],<ref name="ASH26">{{cite web|url = http://www.postfrontal.com/PDF/prove_alianti/ASH26.pdf |title=A Flight Test Evaluation of the ASH-26E Self Launching 18-Meter Sailplane |access-date=31 August 2011 |last=Johnson |first=Richard |date=September 1995}}</ref> [[Schleicher ASH 25|ASH-25 M/Mi]], [[Schleicher ASH 30|ASH-30 Mi]], [[Schleicher ASH 31|ASH-31 Mi]], [[Schleicher ASW 22|ASW-22 BLE]], and [[Schleicher ASG 32|ASG-32 Mi]].

In 2013, [[e-Go]] airplanes, based in [[Cambridge]], United Kingdom, announced that its new single-seater canard aircraft, will be powered by a rotary engine from Rotron Power.<ref name="q17tm">{{cite web|url= http://www.e-goaeroplanes.com/the-aeroplane/introduction/ |title=GioCAS 2017 – Aeronautical Consultancy |website=e-goaeroplanes.com}}</ref>

The DA36 E-Star, an aircraft designed by [[Siemens]], [[Diamond Aircraft Industries|Diamond Aircraft]] and [[EADS]], employs a [[series hybrid]] powertrain with the propeller being turned by a Siemens {{convert|70|kW|abbr=on}} electric motor. The aim is to reduce fuel consumption and emissions by up to 25%. An onboard {{convert|40|hp|abbr=on}} Austro Engines rotary engine and generator provides the electricity. A propeller speed reduction unit is eliminated. The electric motor uses electricity stored in batteries, with the generator engine off, to take off and climb reducing sound emissions. The series-hybrid powertrain using the Wankel engine reduces the weight of the plane by 100 kg compared with its predecessor. The DA36 E-Star first flew in June 2013, making this the first-ever flight of a series-hybrid powertrain. Diamond Aircraft state that the technology using rotary engines is scalable to a 100-seat aircraft.<ref name="RcilK">{{cite web |url= http://green.autoblog.com/2011/07/03/siemens-diamond-aircraft-eads-unveil-worlds-first-serial-hybr/ |title=Siemens, Diamond Aircraft, EADS unveil world's first serial hybrid aircraft |website=green.autoblog.com |date=2011-07-03 |access-date=2011-07-03 |archive-date=2011-07-07 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110707025157/http://green.autoblog.com/2011/07/03/siemens-diamond-aircraft-eads-unveil-worlds-first-serial-hybr/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="SmURs">{{cite web|url= http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/06/eads-21030618.html |title=EADS and Siemens enter long-term research partnership for electric aviation propulsion; MoU with Diamond Aircraft |website=greencarcongress.com |date=2013-06-18 |access-date=2014-02-01}}</ref>

=== Other uses ===

[[File:UAV-741-F.jpg|thumb|'''Figure 33.''' UEL UAV-741 Wankel engine for a [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|UAV]]]]

The Wankel engine is well-suited for devices in which a human operator is in close proximity to the engine, e. g., hand-held devices such as chainsaws.<ref name="Ansdale Keller 1971 p. 214">{{cite book | last1=Ansdale | first1=R.F. | last2=Keller | first2=H. | title=Der Wankelmotor: Konstruktion und Wirkungsweise | publication-place=Stuttgart| publisher=Motorbuch-Verlag | year=1971 | language=de | page=214}}</ref> The excellent starting behavior and low mass make the Wankel engine also a good powerplant for portable fire pumps and portable power generators.<ref name="Ansdale Keller 1971 p. 215">{{cite book | last1=Ansdale | first1=R.F. | last2=Keller | first2=H. | title=Der Wankelmotor: Konstruktion und Wirkungsweise | publication-place=Stuttgart| publisher=Motorbuch-Verlag | year=1971 | language=de | page=215}}</ref>

Small Wankel engines are being found in applications such as [[kart racing|go-karts]], [[personal water craft]], and [[auxiliary power unit]]s for aircraft.<ref name="o4ITr">{{cite web|url= http://www.der-wankelmotor.de/Motoren/UAV/Pats/pats.html |title=Pats APU |publisher=Der Wankelmotor | location=DE |access-date= 2009-07-03}}</ref> [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries|Kawasaki]] patented mixture-cooled rotary engine (US patent 3991722). Japanese diesel engine manufacturer [[Yanmar]] and [[Dolmar|Dolmar-Sachs]] of Germany had a rotary-engined chain saw (SAE paper 760642) and outboard boat engines, and the French Outils Wolf, made a lawnmower (Rotondor) powered by a Wankel rotary engine. To save on production costs, the rotor was in a horizontal position and there were no seals on the downside.

The simplicity of the rotary engine makes it well-suited for mini, micro, and micro-mini engine designs. The [[Microelectromechanical systems]] (MEMS) Rotary Engine Lab at the [[University of California, Berkeley]], has previously undertaken research towards the development of rotary engines of down to 1 mm in diameter, with displacements less than 0.1 cc. Materials include silicon and motive power includes compressed air. The goal of such research was to eventually develop an internal combustion engine with the ability to deliver 100 milliwatts of electrical power; with the engine itself serving as the rotor of the [[Electric generator|generator]], with [[magnet]]s built into the engine rotor itself.<ref name="zRdO7">{{cite journal |title=MEMS Rotary Engine Power System |journal=IEEJ Transactions on Sensors and Micromachines |volume=123 |issue=9 |pages=326 |publisher=University of California |location=Berkeley, CA |date=2004-01-14 |bibcode=2003IJTSM.123..326F |last1=Fernandez-Pello |first1=A. Carlos |last2=Pisano |first2=Albert P. |last3=Fu |first3=Kelvin |last4=Walther |first4=David C. |last5=Knobloch |first5=Aaron |last6=Martinez |first6=Fabian |last7=Senesky |first7=Matt |last8=Stoldt |first8=Conrad |last9=Maboudian |first9=Roya |last10=Sanders |first10=Seth |last11=Liepmann |first11=Dorian |doi=10.1541/ieejsmas.123.326 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="ZZSJW">{{cite web|url= http://www.me.berkeley.edu/cpl/media/memsff01.pdf |title=34474_2 |access-date=2010-12-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100710020103/http://www.me.berkeley.edu/cpl/media/memsff01.pdf |archive-date=July 10, 2010}}</ref> Development of the miniature rotary engine stopped at UC Berkeley at the end of the DARPA contract.

In 1976, Road & Track reported that [[Ingersoll-Rand]] would develop a Wankel engine with a chamber volume Vk of {{cvt|25|dm3|in3|-2|order=flip}} with a rated power of {{cvt|500|hp|kW|0}} per rotor.<ref name="Road & Track 1976 p. 89">{{cite book | title=Road & Track | publisher=Bond Publishing | issue=Bd. 28 | year=1976 | page=89}}</ref> Eventually, 13 units of the proposed engine were built, albeit with a larger displacement, and covered over 90,000 operating hours combined. The engine was made with a chamber volume Vk of {{cvt|2500|in3|dm3|0}}, and a power output of {{cvt|550|hp|kW|0}} per rotor. Both single, and twin-rotor engines were made (producing {{cvt|550|hp|kW|0}} or {{cvt|1100|hp|kW|0}} respectively). The engines ran on natural gas and had a relatively low engine speed due to the application that they were used for.<ref name="The Rotary Combustion Engine: A Candidate for General Aviation 1978 p. 127">{{cite book | title=The Rotary Combustion Engine: A Candidate for General Aviation | work=National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Scientific and Techn. Information Office | series=NASA conference publication | year=1978 | page=127}}</ref>

[[Deere & Company]] acquired the Curtiss-Wright rotary division in February 1984, also making large multi-fuel prototypes, some with an 11-liter rotor for large vehicles.<ref name=silvestri/><ref name="DgihD">{{Citation | title=Stratified Charge Rotary Engine Developments at JDTI (John Deere Technologies International) from 1984 to 1991 | first=Charles | last=Jones | year=1992}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Proft |first1=Bill |title=The John Deere Rotary Engine |url= https://greenmagazine.com/the-john-deere-rotary-engine/ |website=greenmagazine.com |date=9 October 2018}}</ref> The developers attempted to use a stratified charge concept.<ref name=silvestri>{{cite web |first1=William B. |last1=Silvestri |first2=Edward S. |last2=Wright |title=John Deere Score Engines in Marine Applications |url= https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/GT/proceedings-pdf/GT1986/79290/V002T03A005/2396441/v002t03a005-86-gt-256.pdf |publisher=American Society of Mechanical Engineers |date=1986 }}</ref> The technology was transferred to RPI in 1991.<ref>{{cite news |title=Deere Pulls Out of the Rotary Engine Race |url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-04-10-9102020081-story.html |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=10 April 1991 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Gilboy |first1=James |title=The 11.6-Liter, Big-Block Diesel Rotary Was Just Too Good for This World |url= https://www.thedrive.com/news/36426/the-11-6-liter-big-block-diesel-rotary-was-just-too-good-for-this-world |website=thedrive.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210803024956/https://www.thedrive.com/news/36426/the-11-6-liter-big-block-diesel-rotary-was-just-too-good-for-this-world |archive-date=3 August 2021 |date=15 September 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Yanmar]] of Japan produced some small, charge-cooled rotary engines for chainsaws and outboard engines.<ref name="JhAV3">{{cite web| url= http://www.der-wankelmotor.de/Motoren/Yanmar-Diesel/yanmar-diesel.html |title=Yanmar Diesel |publisher=Der Wankelmotor | location=DE |access-date=2010-12-20}}</ref> One of its products is the LDR (rotor recess in the leading edge of the combustion chamber) engine, which has better exhaust emissions profiles, and reed-valve controlled intake ports, which improve part-load and low rpm performance.<ref name="HMj5q">{{Citation | first1=Kojiro | last1=Yamaoka | first2=Hiroshi | last2=Tado | publisher=SAE |title=720466 | year=1972}}</ref>

In 1971 and 1972, [[Arctic Cat]] produced snowmobiles powered by Sachs KM 914 303-cc and KC-24 294-cc Wankel engines made in Germany.

In the early 1970s, [[Outboard Marine Corporation]] sold snowmobiles under the Johnson and other brands, which were powered by {{convert|35|or|45|hp|abbr=on}} OMC engines.

Aixro of Germany produces and sells a go-kart engine, with a 294-cc-chamber charge-cooled rotor and liquid-cooled housings. Other makers include Wankel AG, Cubewano, Rotron, and Precision Technology.

=== Non-internal combustion ===

[[File:Wankel-Airco.jpg|thumb|'''Figure 34.''' Ogura Wankel Air conditioning system compressor]]

In addition to applications as an internal combustion engine, the basic Wankel design has also been used for [[gas compressor]]s, and [[supercharger]]s for internal combustion engines, but in these cases, although the design still offers advantages in reliability, the basic advantages of the Wankel in size and weight over the four-stroke internal combustion engine are irrelevant. In a design using a Wankel supercharger on a Wankel engine, the supercharger is twice the size of the engine.

The Wankel design is used in the [[seat belt]] pre-tensioner system<ref name="DT41N">{{cite web|url= http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT5485970&id=N6QhAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&dq=5485970#PPA1-IA1,M1 |title=TRW Wankel pre-tensioner system |access-date=2009-07-03}}</ref> in some [[Mercedes-Benz]]<ref name="HcEdw">{{cite web |url= http://www.mercedestechstore.com/pdfs/507%20Systems%20I/507%20HO%20SRS%20(GC%20ICC)%2010-30-02.pdf |title=Occupant Safety Systems |website=mercedestechstore.com |pages=11–12 |access-date=2007-12-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080228083751/http://www.mercedestechstore.com/pdfs/507%20Systems%20I/507%20HO%20SRS%20%28GC%20ICC%29%2010-30-02.pdf |archive-date=2008-02-28}}</ref> and [[Volkswagen]]<ref name="nVs9X">{{cite web |url= http://www.trw-eos.com/enG/about_us/trw_original_equipment.aspx |title=Original Equipment |website=trw-eos.com |access-date=2009-02-12 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080311074151/http://www.trw-eos.com/enG/about_us/trw_original_equipment.aspx |archive-date=March 11, 2008}}</ref> cars. When the [[deceleration]] [[sensor]]s detect a potential crash, small explosive cartridges are triggered electrically, and the resulting pressurized gas feeds into tiny Wankel engines which rotate to take up the slack in the seat belt systems, anchoring the driver and passengers firmly in the seat before a collision.<ref name="5FrID">{{cite web |url= http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT5485970&id=N6QhAAAAEBAJ&dq=5485970 |title=Seat belt pretensioner | first=Charles E. |last=Steffens, Jr. |access-date=2007-04-11}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[General Motors Rotary Combustion Engine]]

* [[Gunderson Do-All Machine]]

* [[Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE]]

* [[Mazda Wankel engine]]

* [[Mercedes-Benz M 950]]

* [[Mercedes-Benz C111]]

* [[O.S. Engines]], the only licensed maker of Wankel [[model engine]]s

* [[Pistonless rotary engine]]

* [[Quasiturbine]]

* [[RKM engine]]

* [[Liquidpiston]]

== Notes ==

== References ==

{{cite book |author=Yamaguchi, Jack K | title=The Mazda RX-8: World's First 4-door, 4-seat Sports Car Plus Complete Histories of Mazda Rotary Engine development and Rotary Racing Around the World |publisher=Mazda Motor | year=2003 |isbn=4-947659-02-5}}

{{cite book |author=Yamaguchi, Jack K | title=The New Mazda RX-7 and Mazda Rotary Engine Sports Cars |publisher=St. Martin's Press | place=New York |year=1985 |isbn=0-312-69456-3}}

{{cite journal |first=Jan P. |last=Norbye |title=Watch out for Mazda! |journal=Automobile Quarterly |year=1973 |volume=XI.1 | pages=50–61}}

{{cite book | first=Kenichi | last=Yamamoto | title=Rotary Engine | publisher=Toyo Kogyo | year=1981}}

* F Feller and M I Mech: "The 2-Stage Rotary Engine—A New Concept in Diesel Power" by Rolls-Royce, The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Proceedings 1970–71, Vol. 185, pp. 139–158, D55-D66. London

{{cite book | first=R. F. | last=Ansdale | title=The Wankel RC Engine, Design and Performance | publisher=Iliffe | year=1968 | isbn= 0-592-00625-5}}

* P V Lamarque, "The Design of Cooling Fins for Motor-Cycle Engines", ''The Institution of Automobile Engineers Magazine'', London, March 1943 issue, and also in "The Institution of Automobile Engineers Proceedings", XXXVII, Session 1942–1943, pp. 99–134 and 309–312.

* Walter G. Froede (1961): 'The NSU-Wankel Rotating Combustion Engine', SAE Technical paper 610017

* M. R. Hayes & D. P. Bottrill: 'N.S.U. Spider -Vehicle Analysis', Mira (Motor Industry Research Association, UK), 1965.

* C Jones (Curtiss-Wright), "Rotary Combustion Engine is as Neat and Trim as the Aircraft Turbine", SAE Journal, May 1968, Vol 76, nº 5: 67–69. Also in SAE paper 670194.

Jan P Norbye: "Rivals to the Wankel", Popular Science, Jan 1967; 'The Wankel Engine. Design, development, applications'; Chilton, 1972. {{ISBN|0-8019-5591-2}}

{{cite book |author= Norbye, Jan P. | title=The Wankel engine Disign Development Applications |publisher=Chilton Book Company | year=1971 |isbn=0-8019-5591-2}}

* T W Rogers et al. (Mobil),"Lubricating Rotary Engines", Automotive Engineering (SAE) May 1972, Vol 80, nº 5: 23–35.

* K Yamamoto et al. (Mazda): "Combustion and Emission Properties of Rotary Engines", Automotive Engineering (SAE), July 1972: 26–29. Also in SAE paper 720357.

* L W Manley (Mobil): "Low-Octane Fuel is OK for Rotary Engines", Automotive Engineering (SAE), Aug 1972, Vol 80, nº 8: 28–29.

{{cite book | last=Bensinger | first=Wolf-Dieter | title=Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren | publisher=Springer-Verlag | publication-place=Berlin Heidelberg | year=1973 | isbn=978-3-642-52173-7 | language=de}}

* Reiner Nikulski: "The Norton rotor turns in my Hercules W-2000", "Sachs KC-27 engine with a catalyst converter", and other articles in: "Wankel News" (In German, from Hercules Wankel IG)

* "A WorldWide Rotary Update", Automotive Engineering (SAE), Feb 1978, Vol 86, nº 2: 31–42.

B Lawton: 'The Turbocharged Diesel Wankel Engine', C68/78, of: 'Institution of Mechanical Engineers Conference Publications. 1978–2, Turbocharging and Turbochargers, {{ISBN|0 85298 395 6}}, pp 151–160.

* T Kohno et al. (Toyota): "Rotary Engine's Light-Load Combustion Improved", Automotive Engineering (SAE), Aug 1979: 33–38. Also in SAE paper 790435.

* Kris Perkins: ''Norton Rotaries'', 1991 Osprey Automotive, London. {{ISBN|1855321 81 5}}

* Karl Ludvigsen: ''Wankel Engines A to Z'', New York 1973. {{ISBN|0-913646-01-6}}

* Len Louthan (AAI corp.): 'Development of a Lightweight Heavy Fuel Rotary Engine', SAE paper 930682

Patents: {{patent|US|3848574}}, 1974 -Kawasaki; {{patent|GB|1460229}}, 1974 -Ford; {{patent|US|3833321}}, 1974; {{patent|US|3981688}}, 1976. -Ford; {{patent|CA|1030743}}, 1978; {{patent|CA|1045553}}, 1979, -Ford.

* Dun-Zen Jeng et al.: 'The Numerical Investigation on the Performance of Rotary Engine with Leakage, Different Fuels and Recess Sizes', SAE paper 2013-32-9160, and same author: 'The intake and Exhaust Pipe Effect on Rotary Engine Performance', SAE paper 2013-32-9161

* Wei Wu et al.: 'A Heat Pipe Assisted Air-Cooled Rotary Wankel Engine for Improved Durability, Power and Efficiency', SAE paper 2014-01-2160

* Alberto Boretti: 'CAD/CFD/CAE Modelling of Wankel Engines for UAV', SAE Technical Paper 2015-01-2466

{{cite book | last=Korp | first=Dieter | title=Prokoll einer Erfindung - Der Wankelmotor | publisher=Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart | publication-place=Stuttgart | year=1975 | isbn=3-87943-381-X | language=de}}

== External links ==

{{US patent|2988008}}

{{cite web |url= http://www.howstuffworks.com/rotary-engine.htm/printable |title=How Wankel Engines Work |date=9 February 2021 |website=howstuffworks.com |access-date=19 January 2023}}

{{cite magazine |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wCoDAAAAMBAJ |title= Auto Engine Without Pistons| first= David |last=Scott |date=March 1960 |magazine=Popular Science |page=82}}

{{cite magazine |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CSEDAAAAMBAJ |title= Rivals to the Wankel: A Roundup of Rotary Engines |first=Jan P. |last=Norbye |date=January 1967 |magazine=Popular Science |page=80| postscript=. Kauertz, Tschudi, Virmel, Mercer, Selwood, Jernaes examples.}}

[[Category:Wankel engines| ]]

[[Category:Piston ported engines]]

[[Category:Pistonless rotary engine]]

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[[Category:German inventions]]

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