What Cars Have Wankel Engines?

The Wankel engine is a type of internal combustion engine that uses a triangular rotor that spins within a figure-8 shaped chamber. This design allows for a more compact and powerful engine than traditional piston engines.

Wankel engines were first developed in the 1950s by German engineer Felix Wankel. The first production car to use a Wankel engine was the NSU Ro 80, which was released in 1967. Since then, Wankel engines have been used in a variety of cars, including the Mazda RX-7, RX-8, and Cosmo.

Advantages of Wankel Engines

Wankel engines offer a number of advantages over traditional piston engines, including:

* **Compactness:** Wankel engines are much more compact than piston engines, which makes them ideal for use in small cars and motorcycles.
* **Power:** Wankel engines can produce more power than piston engines of the same size.
* **Smoothness:** Wankel engines run very smoothly, thanks to their unique rotating design.

Disadvantages of Wankel Engines

Wankel engines also have some disadvantages, including:

* **Fuel economy:** Wankel engines are not as fuel-efficient as piston engines.
* **Emissions:** Wankel engines produce more emissions than piston engines.
* **Reliability:** Wankel engines are not as reliable as piston engines.

Cars That Have Used Wankel Engines

The following is a list of cars that have used Wankel engines:

* **NSU Ro 80** (1967-1977)
* **Mazda RX-2** (1970-1974)
* **Mazda RX-3** (1971-1978)
* **Mazda RX-4** (1972-1979)
* **Mazda RX-5** (1975-1981)
* **Mazda RX-7** (1978-2002)
* **Mazda RX-8** (2003-2012)
* **Mazda Cosmo** (1967-1972, 1975-1981, 1990-1995)
* **Mercedes-Benz C111** (1969-1971)
* **Hercules W-2000** (1974-1977)
* **Norton Commander** (1987-1994)
* **Suzuki RE5** (1974-1976)

Conclusion

Wankel engines offer a number of advantages over traditional piston engines, but they also have some disadvantages. As a result, Wankel engines are not as common as piston engines. However, they are still used in a number of niche applications, such as sports cars and motorcycles.