Mazda has been producing rotary engines since the ’60s and they’re still around today. Their latest vehicle is the RX8 and is quite the eye turner when it goes by. This remarkably different take on the internal combustion engine is the direct result of improvements on Dr. Felix Wankel’s original invention in 1957.

Beginning in the 1960s, Mazda put a major engineering effort into development of the Wankel rotary engine as a way of differentiating themselves from other Japanese auto companies. Beginning with the limited-production Cosmo Sport of 1967 and continuing to the present day with the RX-8, Mazda has become the sole manufacturer of Wankel-type engines mainly by way of attrition (NSU and Citroën both gave up on the design during the 1970s, and prototype efforts by General Motors never made it to production.)

Mazda and their new engine steadily improved, increasing horsepower and maximum rpm. Today, many aftermarket parts can be had, probably the most popular being an addon turbocharger.

We have a nice image gallery coming up next and a couple of videos.

(Source1, Source2)

Click to enlarge.

How a rotary engine works

Boing-boing versus Hmmmmm
(An old commercial.)