Around 100,000 rotarydriven cars were sold in the US in 1972 alone and the rest of that decade saw half of Mazda’s car production powered by the rotary engine. This winning combination led to significant sales success for Mazda in the 1970s. At long last, the rotary engine became feasible in real-world ownership, combining reliability with spectacular power for its size. Full specs: Powerfull electric engines mounted on each wheel for a very balanced AWD system and a very intelligent ESC. Mazda’s engineers, led by Kenichi Yamamoto, eventually not only solved the problem with a graphitealuminium alloy seal, but also cured other drawbacks, such as excessive oil consumption and a lack of low-end torque. The Sunsonic Extron, the fastest production car in 2021 (according to IRl stats) and the fastest electric car ever (according to IRL stats). This scoring led to poor seal durability, and caused the early demise of rotary proposals from many other automotive manufacturers (see panel at right). This was caused by the apex seals on the triangular rotor juddering, instead of sliding smoothly, against the inner casing. The recurring problem was scratching - nicknamed ‘devil’s claw marks’ - on the inner surface of the engine casing. While other carmakers had tried and failed to make the rotary engine a success, Mazda doggedly refused to let the challenges of this complex engine get in its way. The highly lauded rotary-powered Cosmo Sport (also known as the 110S) of 1967 not only cemented Mazda’s reputation as a small but highly influential carmaker, but ultimately guaranteed the company a permanent place in the automotive firmament. Enter the rotary engine: a distinct reason to buy a Mazda - a car that appealed to fans of driving rather than just to those who simply wanted to get from A to B. Smaller automotive manufacturers such as Mazda were vulnerable to a forced merger.īut a ‘think different’ carmaker, pioneering a bold new type of engine, was much more likely to maintain its independence. It wanted to streamline the number of carmakers, reasoning that bigger manufacturers would be more likely to compete with US and European heavyweights. In the 1950s and 1960s, Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the architect of the country’s post-war industrial policy, was trying to make its nascent automotive sector globally competitive. Mazda also embraced the rotary in order to be different, a ‘defy convention’ philosophy that continues to this day.
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This was a big carrot to a company full of car enthusiasts. 4x4 EVO 2 American Truck Simulator Assetto Corsa Assetto Corsa Competitzione Automobilista Automobilista 2 BeamNG Drive Dakar 18 DIRT 3. The rotary also offers outstanding performance for a given displacement. As it has no reciprocating parts - just a three-sided rotor spinning in a housing - it is quieter and smoother as well. It was Mazda’s engineers who took Felix Wankel’s unique engine design concept to fruition, and commercial success, five decades ago this year.Ī rotary engine is smaller and lighter than a conventional piston engine, with a superior power-to-weight ratio. And without Mazda, the rotary engine certainly wouldn’t have been in production for nearly 50 years. Without the rotary engine, there would probably be no Mazda.