Wankel Engine Makes Exhaust Glow Like Jewellery

To start with, when your exhaust manifold glows like jewellery, it certainly draws attention. Box ticked. By the way, in case you were wondering, the footage below sees the engine working at 6,000 revs.

Then there’s the status-indicating part - if you can afford to run a four-rotor Wankel engine like this, you’re definitely special. Which raises the question - why can’t I walk into a dealership and buy something with Wankel power these days?

The pros and cons of Wankel engines

To put it shortly, the pros start with an extremely pleasureful character. These things are rev-happy and smooth.

Other benefits include high volumetric efficiency, which means your rotary will achieve the same power as your’s neighbor's reciprocating engine, but with half the size. Alas, you won’t be saving any planet.

In fact, emissions were the reason Mazda, the only carmaker that continued to invest in Wankel engines, is currently hesitating to revive them. You see, Wankel engines have low thermal efficiency (hence the glowing exhausts), so their fuel efficiency and emissions aren't exactly-top class.

Rotary engines also have reliability issues and while this was overlooked in racing (they were rebuilding them constantly anyway), on the street it does raise costs pasts the acceptable level. Nonetheless, the Mazda RX-8, which was the last occasion for us to get a taste of a Wankel, was more than loved by its owners.

Speaking of racing, FIA has banned Wankel from many racing series, mainly due to the disputes over how these were classified compared to the reciprocating engines. Yep, that makes them pretty cool.