In theory, Wankel-style rotary internal combustion engines have many advantages: they ditch the cumbersome crankcase and piston design, replacing it with a simple, single-chamber design and a thick, ...

The history of automotive engineering is a graveyard of radical ideas, where many promising technologies have fallen by the ...

The FD RX-7's 13B-REW was Mazda's rotary masterpiece—but owning one in 2026 comes with a serious financial commitment.

Nigel first entered the world of automotive journalism in the mid-80s, working for what was then the “bible” of weekly automotive content - Motoring News. Those were the days of tip-tap typewriters, ...

Gilbert Smith is an automotive journalist with over five years of specialized research and writing experience. Before joining CarBuzz in 2024, he produced in-depth buyer’s guides and feature articles ...

Designed and championed by self-taught engineer Felix Wankel, the rotary engine is now most closely associated with Japanese automaker Mazda. Many of the greatest Mazdas ever made, including the RX-7 ...

If there's one thing forever associated with the Wankel rotary engine, it's Mazda. Powering production vehicles from the Cosmo's launch in May 1967 to the last RX-8 leaving the plant in June 2012, the ...

The Mazda Iconic SP concept of the 2023 Japan Mobility Show was the sign of a new Mazda sports car that we’ve been awaiting for a decade—no, two. The Wankel rotary-powered, popup headlight-equipped ...

Felix Wankel died on October 9, 1988, in Heidelberg, West Germany, at age 86. He left behind one of the most unconventional ...

The gist is that, according to Mogo, the Iconic-SP concept was very well received. Count MotorTrend in that camp, as the sleek coupe concept and its cult-classic rotary engine (even relegated to range ...

The piston engine may be the most common type of internal combustion engine found in consumer automotive vehicles. That doesn't mean it's the only option drivers have ever had access to. In the 1960s, ...